Alvernia Magazine Summer 2013

Alvernia Magazine Summer 2013

alvernia
magazine
Challenging question
complicated answer
Beast or Brother?
the
TIES
THAT
bind
For Mary Ann
Berger, the
Carolyn Holleran, right,
and Mary Ann Berger
Bernardine
Sisters and
Alvernia are the
As Sarah Keinard ’12 strode to the stage in Alvernia’s Physical
Education Center to receive her undergraduate degree in accounting
last December, her grandmother, Mary Ann Berger, looked on
linking forces
proudly from the top of the grandstands.
that connect her
She was there with hundreds of proud parents, grandparents,
roots and family
siblings, families and friends, each there to celebrate the success of a
loved one. But for Mary Ann, as she watched the ceremony with her
to the past,
daughter Christine, and granddaughter Melisa, (a first-year student at
present
and future.
Alvernia), it was more than just a graduation.
It was, in a very personal and profound way, a homecoming. Half
a century earlier, she herself had arrived on what would become
Alvernia’s campus to begin a new phase in her own life and
education. But not by choice.
Mary Ann Grossman was only 6 years old, and she was coming to
live at St. Francis Orphanage. 
By Jack Croft
Alvernia University Magazine
17
16 | The Ties That Bind
An Alvernia legacy connects
Mary Ann Berger’s past and future.
C
H
E
C
K
26 Alvernia University Magazine
30
Real-world,
experiential learning
is giving college
students the types
of know-how
employers are
looking for, and
students the skills
and training they’ll
need to succeed.
In an Association of American Colleges and Universities
By Julia
VanTine
national survey, more than 75 percent of employers said they
wanted colleges to put more emphasis on five key areas including
critical thinking, complex problem solving, written and oral communication
and applied knowledge in real-world settings.
30 | Reality Check
Real-world, experiential
learning in action!
Body
“ I thought, the earth is
round and the penguins
are on the south side
… they are supposed
to fall off, but yet they
survive … But then I
discovered penguins
didn’t fall due to gravity.
From then on, I wanted
to know more …”
Mind
Morality
Bongrae Seok
Bongrae Seok
delves into how
basic moral abilities
M
are built into our
physical bodies …
and why penguins
don’t fall off the
38 Alvernia University Magazine
By Elizabeth
Shimer Bowers
top right: thEo AndErSon
South Pole.
any children have trouble sleeping
because of visions of four-eyed
monsters hiding in the closet. But
when Bongrae Seok, Ph.D., associate
professor of philosophy at Alvernia, was young,
he lay awake thinking about penguins.
“I thought, the earth is round and the penguins
are on the south side of the earth — they are
supposed to fall off, but yet they survive …”
he recalls. “But then I discovered penguins
didn’t fall due to gravity.” That was the end of
Seok’s nighttime worries, and the beginning
of his passion for philosophy. “From then on, I
wanted to know more, and ask more and more
questions,” he says.
Seok says one of the things he loves about
philosophy is its focus on excellence. By forcing
us to ask questions and fight the status quo, it
helps us become better and better human beings
every day.
His latest philosophical question gets at the
heart of what makes us good people — our moral
consciousness. From the time we are young, most
of us learn we have the power to choose between
right and wrong, and that we make moral
decisions after thinking about them carefully,
and weighing pros and cons in our minds. But
according to the theory Seok proposes in his
new book, there may be another critical factor
at play in moral decision making — how we feel
physically.
The book, “Embodied Moral Psychology
and Confucian Philosophy,” combines ancient
Chinese philosophy and contemporary cognitive
neuroscience to deliver the message that our basic
moral abilities are built into our physical bodies.
“We, of course, need careful analysis and
deliberation for complicated moral issues. But
for our everyday dealings with other people, we
are very much moral animals as we are social
animals, and our bodies tell that to us,” Seok says.
The power of other people’s pain
Seok uses horror movies to explain the
connection between how we feel emotionally and
how we feel physically.
“When we see other people suffering with
physical pain (in these movies), we experience
physical changes, such as perspiration, increased
blood pressure, shortness of breath, etc. — and we
feel as if we have similar pain in our bodies,” Seok
says. “Brain scans show that the areas of the brain
active in a person’s pain experience are generally
the same as the areas of the brain active when
we watch other people suffer. That is, we mirror
other people’s pain,” he says.
Seok says this mirroring of others’ pain is
important for two reasons.
“One, this mirroring experience is supported by
brain regions that typically process information
Continued on page 57
Alvernia University Magazine
41
40 | Body, Mind, Morality
Professor Bongrae Seok delves
into basic moral abilities.
Also inside:
6 | On Campus
News from around Alvernia.
Cover & Page 22; Jumpstart Studios/Getty; right: Theo Anderson
14 | B
log-on
The best of the
university’s blogs.
Summer 2013
Toddler Today,
Tolstoy Tomorrow?
When should parents and teachers begin to
nurture writing skills in young children?
Find out on p. 20.
22 | Beast or Brother?
38 | For the Love of Ethan
Challenging question,
complicated answer.
Love for a son conquers all.
Valuing the liberal arts
Thomas F. Flynn
President
4 Alvernia University Magazine
Most of us can’t recall our college graduation speaker, let alone anything he or she said!
But occasionally a speaker leaves graduates with a memorable anecdote or a provocative
question. Melissa Jamula, our honoree last December, had the advantage of having spent
a distinguished career around students as a devoted educator and superintendent of two
school districts, including in her hometown of Reading. She noted the dramatic changes
in the careers available for graduates and reminded Alvernia’s newest alumni that,
according to the latest federal statistics, they would likely have seven different professions
— not jobs — in their lifetime.
She then posed a series of challenging questions to our
graduates and to all of us: How can universities prepare
students for jobs, even careers, which have yet to be
created? How can teachers help students develop the ability
“to solve problems that have yet to be identified?”
These questions are timely as well as provocative. From
federal and state politicians to the media and the general
public, many are mistakenly narrowing the purpose of
higher education to purely economic benefits, even equating
a college education with job preparation.
Take, for instance, the White House’s oversimplified
College Scorecard, recently introduced to enable students to
“compare schools based on a simple criteria (sic) — where
you can get the most bang for your educational buck.” With
a focus on financial outcomes, the scorecard ignores student
learning outcomes, student satisfaction with their experience
and measures of long-term student success. It also ignores
the central (and traditional) civic purpose of higher
education. And it fails also to acknowledge the potential
moral purpose of a university like Alvernia: a transformative
role in shaping students’ personal and ethical development.
For those with this view, higher education is just another
commodity to be purchased, preferably at a low cost and
with maximum convenience, with the tangible results of
practical skills and a good first job.
Make no mistake: a college education has — and should
have — economic impact. Countless studies affirm that
college graduates earn considerably more than high school
graduates and far more even than those with one or two
years of higher education. Universities have a responsibility
to help prepare graduates for the world of work, especially
during turbulent economic times.
But universities must prepare their graduates to be
engaged citizens in a free society, not just worker bees. The
capacities for critical reflection and problem solving; for
creative, innovative thinking; for sophisticated written, oral
and auditory communication skills are essential for lifelong
learning and lives of purpose and meaning.
Tomorrow’s graduates also require global perspective,
rooted in knowledge of diverse cultures and beliefs, along
with the capacity to clarify their own values while finding
common ground with others. Both for successful work and
for active citizenship, our graduates not only need the ability
to work effectively in teams but also a strong sense of social
responsibility to the common good. And, to say the obvious,
they must know how to think and act ethically.
Consider this: Nearly 90 percent of corporate executives
emphasize that their employees need good verbal and
written communication skills; 75 percent seek graduates
who understand ethical decision-making; and 70 percent
say they need creative and innovative workers. How can
universities best address these needs?
Put simply, our nation’s students need a liberal education,
centered on the liberal arts and sciences. They need well
developed habits of the mind, habits of the heart and habits
of the soul.
Alvernia students whom I interviewed two years ago
praised humanities courses, for example, as helping “to open
my mind,” “to walk a mile in another’s shoes,” “to push me
outside my comfort zone.” Or as one older student put it:
The posing of uncomfortable questions “made [him] squirm”
and forced him to question unexamined assumptions.
At Alvernia, we combine a values-based liberal education
with professional preparation and feature real-world,
hands-on learning. Our students are made to “squirm” by
learning outside as well as inside the classroom. Internships,
clinical assignments, research studies and community
service projects provide opportunities for students to grow
both personally and professionally. An inner-city clinical
assignment or an Alternative Break trip to Appalachia is
often life-changing.
To be clear, I am not suggesting that the pursuit of narrow
technical training is without merit. Nor that universities
can be indifferent to workforce needs. Yet it is foolhardy to
ignore the intrinsic — and practical — value of the liberal
arts and the duty of higher education to promote the
common good as well as individual opportunity.
It is also shortsighted. Tomorrow’s graduates and
citizens need knowledge, skills and attitudes to guide them
throughout a lifetime of careers. Careers that change.
Careers that evolve. Careers that, as Melissa Jamula points
out, may not yet exist.
Peace and all good,
right: Theo Anderson
“... our nation’s
students need a
liberal education,
centered on
the liberal arts
and sciences.
They need
well-developed
habits of the
mind, habits
of the heart
and habits of
the soul.”
Daniel Kwasniewski ’13
Biochemistry/chemistry major
Feel
the
Power
of experiential, real-world learning
Discovering the real world has never been easier, thanks to Alvernia’s popular approach
to out-of-the-classroom experiential learning that offers students hands-on educational
opportunities in nearly every area of study! It’s an approach that delivers the practical
know-how prized by employers, while allowing students to develop the essential skills
needed to succeed in that all-important first job.
Just ask organizations like the Washington Redskins, Disney Resorts, ESPN, Ernst &
Young, GlaxoSmithKline, Kellogg’s, CNN and Children’s National Medical Center — they
have all hired our real-world trained graduates.
Want to know more? Check us out at alvernia.edu/getreal
Alvernia University Magazine
5
On Campus
A campaign
to remember
Values & Vision, the institution’s
first-ever comprehensive fundraising
campaign, will conclude this June
having raised more than $30 million
against a $27 million goal! Thanks to
the generosity of many, the campaign
has played a vital role in the transformational growth at Alvernia, an accomplishment for which the university
and its community can take great
pride. A formal celebration of Values &
Vision is planned for the fall.
Thinking about
med school?
Alvernia initiated an exciting partnership with the nation’s largest medical
college, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, this spring. Through
this initiative, Alvernia graduates can
gain early acceptance into the college’s
medical, pharmacy and dental schools.
Students pursuing the pre-med, prepharmacy and pre-dental tracks, who
meet academic requirements while
earning their undergraduate degrees at
Alvernia, will be guaranteed acceptance into Lake Erie College’s graduate
medical program at its campuses in
Florida and Pennsylvania.
Loga named Newman
Civic Fellow
Brandi Loga, a junior biology major,
was honored as a 2013 Newman Civic
Fellow by Campus Compact. The
national award recognizes inspiring
demonstrated a commitment to changing communities. Loga led a team of
students who designed a campus-wide
science, technology, engineering and
math program delivered to 270 middleschool Girl Scouts. She recruited several dozen fellow students to serve as
instructors and led members of Alvernia’s faculty in designing the curriculum
and organizing the program. Loga was
among 181 college students from 36
states chosen by member college and
university presidents for the honor.
6 Alvernia University Magazine
Vatican II: 50 years later
Marking the 50th anniversary of Vatican II, Alvernia continues its series of events honoring the
historic gathering of the world’s bishops in 1962. As part of the series this October, Dr. Catherine
Clifford from the University of St. Paul, Ottawa, will speak about the Council’s impact on dialogue
among Christian churches. In October 2014, Boston College’s Dr. Richard Gaillardetz will address
the theology of baptism and its relation to Vatican II. The series continues in spring of 2015 with
Dr. Massimo Faggioli from the University of St. Thomas, who will address the issues of interpreting
Gaudium et Spes, one of the Council’s most important apostolic constitutions. The series will
conclude in the fall of 2015 with a presentation by Dr. Angela Camara of Seton Hall University,
who will explain a half-century of work based on the Council’s declaration of religious liberty.
TOP: Theo Anderson
college student leaders who have
For more news, visit alvernia.edu/news
Physical Therapy
Doctorate to launch
Christopher Wise,
director of Alvernia’s
doctorate of physical
therapy program.
Well poised for a future in a field that is
already booming, Alvernia is adding several new
opportunities in healthcare, complementing
established programs in nursing, occupational
therapy and athletic training.
The new programs are preparing students for
careers in high-demand areas within healthcare and
include an associate degree in medical imaging, in
conjunction with Reading Health Systems, and a
bachelor’s degree in healthcare science. The latest
addition is the doctorate of physical therapy (DPT).
Currently in “pre-candidacy” phase, the DPT
will be the second doctoral program offered by
the university and the latest addition to a thriving
health sciences curriculum for a growing healthcare
field in Berks County and beyond.
“We’ve been working with several key
organizations in the area to make sure we’re filling
the greatest needs of trained healthcare workers,”
said Karen Thacker, dean of Alvernia’s College of
Professional Programs.
Dr. Christopher Wise, recently named director
of the DPT program, is hard at work developing
the curriculum. “The expectation is that candidacy
will be achieved and students will begin to enroll
for the professional, postgraduate phase of the
program in fall 2014.” Dr. Wise is a practicing
physical therapist and owner of a private practice
with a long-standing academic career and a history
of conducting research.
Malone honored
at graduation
More than 425 Alvernia seniors walked
across the stage at Reading’s Sovereign
Center in May to receive the coveted degrees they worked so hard to
achieve. The ceremony featured commencement speaker Dr. Beverly Malone,
who received an honorary doctorate of
humane letters. Dr. Malone is the chief
executive officer of the National League
for Nursing. She is among America’s
most vocal leaders in the national conversation about the nursing and nurse
educator shortages and the role of nursing in ensuring access to safe, quality,
culturally competent care to diverse
patient populations. Dr. Malone has
worked as a surgical staff nurse, clinical
nurse specialist, director of nursing and
assistant administrator of nursing.
Carpenter Camp
expands
Alvernia and Carpenter Technology
have expanded the Carpenter Science
Camp to give 150 Berks County kids
free, hands-on experiences in chemistry, physics and applied mathematics
this summer. Organized by the Holleran
Center for Community Engagement and
the Alvernia Science Department, the
annual camp provides field trips and
hands-on educational activities taught
by a team of Carpenter scientists and
Alvernia faculty.
Interfaith event finds
common ground
right: Carey Manzolillo
Once a teacher …
Alvernia played host to “A Common Heart” event this spring to
Alvernia’s President Thomas F. Flynn, a former
explore Jewish, Muslim and Christian
English professor, had a unique occasion to
perspectives of God. Sponsored by
return to the classroom this spring to teach a
the Holleran Center for Community
three-week course in Alvernia’s Seniors Col-
Engagement, the program attracted
lege. The college offers individuals ages 55
a crowd of nearly 200 to the McGlinn
and older the opportunity of lifelong learning.
Conference Center. The event featured
Building on previous readings of Huck Finn and
remarks by Rabbi Brian Michelson
“The Great Gatsby,” Flynn’s class “War, Peace
of the Reform Congregation Oheb
and Love in Hemingway,” explored a few of the
Sholom; Rev. Philip Rodgers from St.
writer’s works from the Nick Adams stories be-
Benedict Roman Catholic Church; and
fore discussing another of Hemingway’s great
Dr. Khalid Blankinship, professor of
American novels, “A Farewell to Arms.”
religion at Temple University.
Alvernia University Magazine
7
On Campus
Honors
Convocation
Alvernia honored more than 50
students during its annual Honors
Convocation in April. The Franciscan Peace and Justice Award was
given to senior Thomas Hall, who
demonstrated a spirit of service and
leadership. Junior Justin Padinske
received the Fromm Interfaith Award
for his efforts to encourage interfaith
understanding. The Senior Scholar
Award, which includes a $10,000
scholarship, was presented to
Alexandra Aloia. Congratulations
to all recipients!
Area leaders tapped
for AU board
Seven distinguished community
leaders have joined Alvernia’s Board
of Trustees that provides oversight
for university planning and fiscal
operations. New members include
Thomas Beeman, president and
CEO of Lancaster General Health;
Robert Davis, CEO of VIST Bank;
Angel Helm, former senior vice
president of Wells Fargo Securities; Carl Herbein, CEO of Herbein
& Company; Dr. Rachel Maher ’94,
owner of Dentistry for Children;
Christopher Pruitt, executive
Eboo Patel
coming in fall
Eboo Patel, named by U.S. News & World
Report as one of America’s Best Leaders,
will deliver the keynote address at Alvernia’s
Founders Day lecture this September. An
acclaimed author and president of Interfaith
Youth Core, an organization focused on building
the global interfaith youth movement, Patel will
share his perspectives on religion as a bridge of
cooperation rather than a barrier of division.
Patel’s two books, “Sacred Ground” and “Acts
of Faith,” are the featured reading for 20132014 First Year Seminar classes as well as world
religion courses. He is a regular contributor to
the Washington Post, USA Today, Huffington
Post, NPR and CNN.
He holds a doctorate in sociology of religion
from Oxford University and has served on
President Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council
of the White House Office of Faith-Based and
Neighborhood Partnerships. As an Ashoka
Fellow, he was recently awarded the Guru
Nanak Interfaith Prize, given to an individual
who enhances awareness of the crucial role of
religious dialogue.
Patel’s Muslim faith, Indian heritage and
American citizenship serve as inspiration for
him to speak about religion as a bridge of
cooperation.
“How America
engages its own
religious diversity,
and how it
encourages interfaith
cooperation for the
rest of the world,
matters a great
deal right now.”
Eboo Patel
vice president of sales, finance
and administration for East Penn
Manufacturing Co., and C. Thomas
Work, chair of the estates and trusts
practice group at Stevens & Lee.
Alvernia’s new Campus Commons
Alternative Breaks
inspire service
Instead of heading home or to the
beach for spring break, a group of
committed Alvernia students spent their
time off doing service to help those
less fortunate. Some students stayed
Reading, where they assisted a range
of nonprofit agencies that serve local
populations. Another group of students
traveled to Tennessee, where they
repaired trails and provided support for
indigenous people.
8 Alvernia University Magazine
left: Theo Anderson
close to campus, working in the city of
For more news, visit alvernia.edu/news
Rivals share
the stage
When it comes to rivalries, they don’t
get any better than the feuds fueled by
crosstown competitors Alvernia and
Albright College. But the two schools
joined forces this spring for a most
extraordinary revival of Shakespeare’s
classic King Lear in Francis Hall Theater and Recital Hall. The production
received rave reviews and acclaim for
setting the stage to build theatrical partnerships within higher education. The
production featured the talents of many
Alvernia and Albright students.
Top Honors Slated
Olivet Boys & Girls Clubs and the
Honorable Linda Ludgate ’77 will be
the recipients of the university’s highest
honors at the President’s Dinner in
October. The Pro Urbi Award, literally
meaning “for the city,” will be presented
to Olivet Boys & Girls Clubs of Reading
recognizing its significant service to
the community. The Franciscan Award,
presented to those who selflessly give
of their time, talents and resources for
the betterment of others, will be given
to Ludgate. In addition, the university
will present its top alumni awards during
the evening: The Distinguished Alumni
Award will be presented to George Rice
’85 and the Ellen Frei Gruber Award
given to Sharon Danks ’03, M’04.
New Commons a hit
The highly anticipated new Campus
Commons opened its doors early this
spring, creating an important nexus for
residential and commuting students with
student services, student leadership,
Three nationally known comedians
had Alvernians in stitches this spring.
Michael Ian Black, Vanessa Bayer and
Kate McKinnon all graced the stage for
this year’s Spring Fling, organized by
campus ministry and student activities all
the Student Government Association.
available under one roof. Home to a two-
Black is co-founder of “The State,”
story fitness center, dance and aerobics
right: Carey Manzolillo
Spring Fling
headliners
which had a successful run on MTV. He
studio, computer center and campus
also co-created the Comedy Central
“living room” that can accommodate
television series “Viva Variety.” Bayer
more than 100 students, the facility was
and McKinnon are best known for
an immediate hit with students. Pictured
their sketch work on “Saturday Night
right, President Flynn is joined by faculty,
staff, students and board members at a
ribbon cutting for the facility.
Live.” Josh Rabinowitz, proclaimed by
Comedy Central as a “Comic to Watch”
in 2011, hosted the evening.
Alvernia University Magazine
9
theater
q
Brian Prather, MFA
Assistant Professor of Theatre Design
Prather received the prestigious
Jeff Equity Award for Best Scene
Design-Midsize for his design
of the production “Freud’s Last
Session” at the Mercury Theatre,
Chicago. He was also selected
to design an off-Broadway
production, “The Memory Show,”
in the spring of 2013, and will
be designing productions for
the New York Fringe Festival
as well as productions in Los
Angeles, Florida, Connecticut,
Massachusetts and Delaware.
q
Theresa M. Adams, Ph.D., RN, CSN
Assistant Professor of Nursing
nursing
Adams published her doctoral dissertation “The
Evaluation of Service-Learning as an Innovative
Strategy to Enhance BSN Students’ Transcultural
Self-Efficacy.” This nonequivalent, multiple-year,
quasi-experimental research study evaluated
service-learning as an innovative teaching strategy
to change pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing
students’ perceived transcultural self-efficacy in
providing culturally competent nursing care to
diverse populations.

Notable
Several faculty members received awards during the annual Honors Convocation this spring. Award recipients included:
Dolores Bertoti, MSPT
Peggy Bowen-Hartung, Ph.D., CTS
Judith Warchal, Ph.D.
The Lindback Foundation Award for
Excellence in Teaching is awarded to a fulltime tenured faculty member with at least 10
years of full-time teaching at Alvernia.
The Sister Mary Donatilla Faculty Award is
awarded to a full-time faculty member who
has given long service to the university in
teaching, advising, service and support.
The Holleran Center for Community Engagement’s Faculty
Award for Exemplary Service-Learning is an annual award
given to a full-time faculty member who demonstrates
excellence for incorporating service-learning pedagogy
into their curriculum.
Associate Professor of OT/AT
Lindback Foundation Award
Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
Sister Mary Donatilla Faculty Award
Professor of Psychology
Faculty Award for Exemplary Service-Learning
Periscope
q
My Turn
Gender wars?
Alvernia’s faculty making a difference
psychology
q
Erin Way, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Psychology
Dr. Way has
authored a number
of important papers
recently, including
“Psycho-Social
Characteristics
of Children with
Prenatal Alcohol
Exposure, Compared
to Children with
Down Syndrome
and Typical
Children,” published
in the Journal of
Developmental and
Physical Disabilities.
This article focused
on the behavioral
issues and social
skill deficits of
children with prenatal
alcohol exposure.
For more news, visit
alvernia.edu/news/faculty_scholarship
q
Mary Ellen Wells, JD, LLM
Wells’ article “The Supreme Court
as Prometheus: Breathing Life
into the Corporate Supercitizen,”
co-authored by Robert Sprague,
was published in the American
Business Law Journal. The
article examines the corporate
personhood approach taken by
the Supreme Court in the Citizen’s
United case. Wells, who has been
certified by the Massachusetts
Bar Association for many years,
recently passed the Pennsylvania
Bar examination and was admitted
to the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court for the practice of law in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
business
Carey Manzolillo (1); THEO ANDERSON (3)
Associate Professor of Business
Gender inequity in schools is a serious
matter, regardless of whether it impacts the
achievement of a 7-year-old boy or girl. While
bias against girls has received a lot of press in
the past, particularly in
subjects such as math
and science, attention
has turned to bias
against boys. As many
educators know, girls
are outperforming boys
in grades, advanced
Elizabeth
placement and college
Matteo
attendance.
assistant
If one were to only
professor of
psychology
read some recent book
titles (e.g., “The End
of Men and the Rise of
Women” and “The War Against Boys: How
Misguided Feminism is Harming Our Young
Men”) they might be inclined to wonder
what in the world is happening. While I get
the value of hyperbole and understand why
authors and publishers prefer terms like WAR,
ASSAULT and CRISIS for marketing purposes,
I’m not sure how I feel about it in this case.
I fear it may polarize groups who are equally
passionate about fairness, as well as thwart
dialogue necessary for widespread reform.
This issue came to my attention after I read
a wonderful New York Times opinion piece
by Christina Hoff Sommers titled “The Boys
at the Back.” Sommers, who also wrote the
provocative book “The War Against Boys,”
is revising the subtitle of her book set to be
reissued this summer. Instead of blaming
feminism for the downward trends in male
achievement, Sommers is now implicating
“boy-averse” educational policies such as
the decline in recess and zero-tolerance
disciplinary practices.
Sommers cited a recent study comparing
grades and achievement scores in a sample
of elementary students. The researchers of
the study concluded that across multiple
grades and subjects, boys’ grades were lower
than their achievement scores would have
predicted. The explanation offered for this
finding: primary school teachers (the majority
of whom are female) generally grade boys
lower than girls because they factor behavior
into grading. Apparently girls, and a subset
of boys, tend to benefit from having qualities
such as persistence, eagerness to learn and
Continued on page 60
Alvernia University Magazine
11
Recker Lands
with NY Mets
Former Alvernia baseball standout
Anthony Recker made the move from
the Windy City, where he played with
the Chicago Cubs, to New York, where
he has claimed a spot as the Mets’
backup catcher. Recker, who graduated
Sports
The Who, What and Why of Crusader Sports
For more news, visit athletics.alvernia.edu
in 2005, spent seven years in the minor
leagues before the Oakland A’s bumped
him up to the big leagues last year and
eventually traded him to Chicago late in
the season. The Mets claimed Recker
off waivers from the Cubs last October.
Anthony Recker ’05
Men’s cagers
dominate
Alvernia’s men’s basketball team
enjoyed one of its most successful
seasons in history. The Crusaders
finished as the top-ranked team
in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region
and won the program’s second
MAC Commonwealth Conference
Championship in three years, while
earning an automatic berth in the
NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball
Championships. The Crusaders made
it to the second round before being
knocked out by St. Mary’s College in
a close contest. The team expects
to return all but one senior to next
year’s squad.
Melissa
Fellenbaum
Spring sports flee
to warmer climates
Instead of heading home for
spring break, many athletes fled to
warmer climates in other states and
countries. Alvernia’s baseball, softball
and women’s lacrosse teams headed
to Florida, where they competed in
several games. Men’s and women’s
golf teams set out to Myrtle Beach,
S.C., to practice, while the tennis
teams competed in the same state at
Hilton Head. Playing two high-level
English squads, the men’s soccer
team traveled to the United Kingdom,
Alvernia men’s and women’s indoor track
and field squad enjoyed record-breaking
seasons this spring. The women were ranked
as high as #4 in the Mid-East Region by the
U.S. Track & Field Coaches Association, while
the men enjoyed a #11 ranking — both for
the first time in school history. Senior pole
vaulter Melissa Fellenbaum, ranked as high
as #2 in NCAA Division III, became the first
All-American in program history by finishing
sixth at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track
& Field Championships.
Fellenbaum won the Middle Atlantic
Conference Pole Vault title for the second
straight time. Her jump of 3.82m not only
gave her gold but also set a new meet
record. “It was never my goal to break
records or to get a certain place at meets.
My goal is just to do what I know I am
capable of doing and not let challenges get
in the way. When I do that, the rest tends to
follow,” said Fellenbaum.
Freshman Sarah Garner also came home
from the meet with a medal, taking second
place in the 60m hurdles. The women’s
team placed sixth overall, tallying 38 points
on the day.
In May, Fellenbaum won her fourth gold
medal to lead Alvernia to a sixth place
finish at the women’s MAC Track and Field
Championships (outdoor.) She currently
holds both the indoor (3.90m) and outdoor
(3.75m) school pole vault records.
attending a live FA Cup match.
Alvernia’s men’s soccer team in the U.K.
McCloskey Court
Dedicated
A ceremony held between the
men’s and women’s basketball games
against Albright College dedicated the
Jack McCloskey Court in Alvernia’s
Physical Education Center. The former
men’s basketball coach, who passed
away in 2012, was instrumental in
building the program. McCloskey was
the head coach from 1991 to 2004
and remains the school’s winningest
men’s basketball coach.
Lutz notches #700
With a 6-4 win over Widener
University, Alvernia baseball coach
Yogi Lutz celebrated his 700th win.
Now in his 27th season, Lutz is
ranked 12th in the NCAA Division III
among active coaches in wins and is
the 23rd coach in the division to reach
700 career wins. He earned his first
win in a doubleheader split against
Lebanon Valley on March 21, 1987.
main image: Theo Anderson; inset left: AP images
Track team sets
records; Fellenbaum
goes All-American
where the highlight of the trip included
Alvernia University Magazine
13
What’s hot on our blogosphere
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Neither rain nor …
This past week I had the
pleasure of attending the annual
conference for Sigma Tau Delta
(the English honor society for
colleges and universities) in
Portland, Ore. I was part of one
of two groups from Alvernia that
were chosen to present a creative
roundtable discussion during
the conference. The conference
itself was a great time. Being
in massive rooms full of fellow
English nerds is something I
never expected I would be able to
experience.
Once we stepped outside the
hotel and the conference, things
got interesting.
My group and I traveled about
10 blocks from our hotel to
Powell’s Books one day when
we had some free time. Had we
known it was going to hail like
crazy while we were walking
back, maybe we would have
waited until the next day, but it all
just added to the experience.
Now that I think about it, I
probably would have walked
through a blizzard to get to
Powell’s. If you are ever in the
Portland area and you have
any infatuation with books
WHATSOEVER, you must go.
The store is so massive and just
walking through it (or running
around, in my case) is a great
experience …
Andrew Kaucher ’15
President of the Kappa Pi
Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta
ls all
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He chose Francis
By now you have read plenty
about Cardinal Bergoglio, now
Pope Francis I, so this brief note
will not present you with any
new facts. Perhaps a personal
reaction, impressionistically
written.
I was at my hotel in Baltimore.
I had just driven down from Philly
to attend the annual meeting of
the Mid-Atlantic Region of the
American Academy of Religion,
specifically to participate
in a session on religion and
leadership. Although part of the
Sheraton line, this Starwood was
poorly maintained. At least I got
a king-sized bed. I had bought
some pretzels in the hotel store,
and the TV announcer was saying
that a new pope had been elected.
Already? It was only 3 p.m. in the
afternoon, U.S. East Coast time
on Wednesday.
Who? I thought I heard
“Franciscum” after “Habemus
papam,” but was unsure. Upstairs
to the room and on with the TV.
He’s Latin American. Wow. And
not the Latin American who had
been discussed as a front-runner.
He’s a Jesuit, the first. And after
all the static unfairly raised about
the Jesuits, double wow …
Is it moral,
ethical or legal?
An 87-year-old woman living in
a retirement facility collapses and
needs CPR. The facility’s policy
states emergency personnel
should be immediately notified;
however, the policy also states
that nurses working there are not
to administer CPR.
When the dispatcher on the
phone said, “Anybody there can
do CPR. Give them the phone
please. I understand if your
facility is not willing to do that.
Give the phone to that passerby,
that stranger … this woman is not
breathing enough. She’s going to
die if we don’t get this started …
Mary Arbogast
Nursing and Healthcare
Outreach Coordinator
Pope Francis I
Gerald S. Vigna
Associate Professor of Theology
main image: Library of Congress; Left: corbis; ABOVE: Getty Images
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Alv
the
TIES
THAT
bind
For Mary Ann
Berger, the
Bernardine
Sisters and
Alvernia are the
linking forces
that connect her
roots and family
to the past,
present
and future.
By Jack Croft
Carolyn Holleran, right,
and Mary Ann Berger
As Sarah Keinard ’12 strode to the stage in Alvernia’s Physical
Education Center to receive her undergraduate degree in accounting
last December, her grandmother, Mary Ann Berger, looked on
proudly from the top of the grandstands.
She was there with hundreds of proud parents, grandparents,
siblings, families and friends, each there to celebrate the success of a
loved one. But for Mary Ann, as she watched the ceremony with her
daughter Christine, and granddaughter Melisa, (a first-year student at
Alvernia), it was more than just a graduation.
It was, in a very personal and profound way, a homecoming. Half
a century earlier, she herself had arrived on what would become
Alvernia’s campus to begin a new phase in her own life and
education. But not by choice.
Mary Ann Grossman was only 6 years old, and she was coming to
live at St. Francis Orphanage. 
Alvernia University Magazine
17
Sitting in the conference room in Francis Hall, it dawns on
Berger that she has been there before, a long time ago. It was
in December 1951, her first day at St. Francis Orphanage, and
— along with older sister Rita and older brothers Frank and
Leonard — she was saying goodbye to her father.
“He gave each of us a silver dollar,” Berger recalls.
Her whole family — there were nine children in all — had
been living together the previous two years at a house on
Plum Street in Reading that two of her older sisters bought.
Her brother Joseph — some 10 years older, who lived in
the orphanage off and on from the time he was 27 months
through the eighth grade — wrote a detailed account of his
recollections, some of which were published in the 2008 book
“Designed to Serve: The Place and Persons of Francis Hall” by
Sister Mary Pacelli Staskiel, OSF.
His account of the Plum Street home, which was not
included in the book, is about as far from the 1950s Norman
Rockwell ideal of domestic tranquility as you can imagine:
“Our house was a former house of prostitution, and up a
block from ours was an active house, also called a cat house
in those days. Ours was a small house, three small bedrooms,
“I told Mother Superior that I wanted to be
a nurse. I wound up in the infirmary with
Sister Conrad. She was very bright.”
no closets, a living room, dining room and a kitchen. No
bath or hot water, an outhouse in the backyard, but this
was all my sisters could afford. My Mom and Dad moved in
shortly after the house was bought, but my Dad continued his
drinking, and since he worked as a junk man, he made very
little money, and what he made went largely to support his
drinking. In one of the bedrooms upstairs was what I thought
was a closet, but it was really an exit door that led into the
house next door, in case the house was raided.”
“My father was an alcoholic,” Berger says, her voice soft.
“My mother was a very good woman, but she was not a very
good disciplinarian. She let us run free.”
That is until the court intervened, taking the younger
18 Alvernia University Magazine
children away from their parents and placing them in St.
Francis Orphanage, run by the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters.
“I remember being in court. It was hard. I was 6 years old,”
she says, then pauses, “but it was for the best.”
Francis Hall was her home until 1958, when the Bernardine
Sisters decided to convert the site to a college that has grown
into today’s Alvernia University. It has undergone extensive
renovations since Berger lived there, and the Alvernia campus
bears little resemblance to the grounds she roamed as a child.
But modernization is no match for memories.
Berger had an inquisitive spirit, and as she walks the halls
of the building where she grew up, she recalls all the places
she snuck into during times when she wasn’t supposed to be
there. The theater, which is still there, in which she performed
in numerous plays. The art classroom, which hasn’t been used
in many years, up in the tower. A “snake path” outside, long
gone, that wound through a wooded area between the sisters’
infirmary and the grotto, where she ventured a few times after
dinner — until she was caught and got in trouble.
“I was always a person to ask a lot of questions,” she says.
And then there was the time she snuck into the bathroom
when the nuns were inside — something specifically verboten.
“I had to see if the nuns had legs,” she says impishly. “They
always wore those long black robes.”
Berger had her favorite nuns, as well as her favorite places.
As she walks past Room 214, Berger exclaims, “That was the
infirmary!” She spent considerable time there helping Sister
Conrad, who cared for generations of children in the orphanage.
Sister Conrad was easy to remember. She stood about 4 feet
tall, and was smaller than many of the older children. But
the lasting impression she made on Berger stemmed from her
compassion and intelligence, not her diminutive size.
“I told Mother Superior that I wanted to be a nurse. I
wound up in the infirmary with Sister Conrad,” she recalls.
“She was very bright.”
There, Berger learned how to take children’s temperatures
and care for the sick. She cherished her time helping in the
infirmary so much that years later, when she was 16, she
brought her future husband to meet Sister Conrad and show
him where she had grown up. Twelve years later, she returned
once again to introduce Sister Conrad, who was retired by
then, to her four children.
“She was so happy to see us,” Berger recalls. “She told me she
missed the children. Everything was so different and too quiet.”
Her other favorite nun was Sister Anita, her fourth-grade
art teacher. The classroom was up in the tower and had a
beautiful view of the surrounding countryside. Not that the
view was the main attraction for Berger. Sister Anita was a
talented and creative artist, and instilled in her young pupil a
love for art that has lasted a lifetime.
“I was actually afraid of heights,” Berger says. “But for that,
it was worth it.”
For children accustomed to almost no structure or discipline,
St. Francis Orphanage strictly imposed both. Up early to make
the bed. Breakfast. Chores. Class. Lunch. Class. Playtime.
Dinner. Wash the dishes. (The girls did the dishes after
breakfast and dinner, the boys did the dishes after lunch.)
Homework. Bedtime.
And the next day, do it all again. “It was ritual,” Berger says.
Asked if she grew to welcome the structure and discipline,
left: Courtesy of Marry Ann Berger; right and previous spread; Theo Anderson
Mary Ann Berger with her
granddaughters Sarah ’12
and Melisa Keinard ’16.
Berger replies simply: “You adjust.”
Not that it was all ritual. There were outings to nearby
Reading Indians minor league ballgames (once, Berger was
chosen to speak on the radio broadcast, asking for donations
to help the children) and even to Atlantic City once or twice.
They would walk from Francis Hall over to the lake at Angelica
Dam to swim (the dam — and the lake it formed — are now
gone, and the area is being converted back to wetlands).
Not all of the children who attended the school lived in
Francis Hall, though. Some lived at home, and only attended
school there during the day. “The Outsiders, we called them,”
Berger says. “We were the Insiders.”
And while some of the children who lived at the orphanage
went home regularly for weekends and holidays to visit their
families, that usually wasn’t in the cards for Berger and her
siblings. Sometimes, she would go home with another child.
On occasions when she was allowed to see her mother, it
upset her greatly.
“I was very close to my mother. It was very traumatic
being away from her.” When she had to leave at the end of
a visit, she would cry. “Finally, they told me that if I didn’t
stop crying, I wouldn’t be able to visit anymore,” Berger says,
before adding softly: “You adjust.”
But even those precious visits were more than the young
girl could count on.
“There were times we went home and my mother wasn’t
there. She had moved,” Berger says. She recalls walking
through the neighborhood on those occasions, looking for her
lost mother.
Mary Ann Berger grew up to have four children of her own,
as well as 14 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She
married in September 1963, just three months after graduating
from Central Catholic High School.
She had gone to live at St. Catharine’s after St. Francis
Orphanage was closed, and rode a bus an hour each way to
attend Holy Guardian Angels Regional School in Temple for a
year before she was able to get into Central Catholic. Influenced
by Sister Conrad, Berger thought about becoming a nurse, and
even worked at St. Joseph Hospital, where her aunt worked, for
two years during high school. (Her great-niece Lynn Stubblebine
is currently a nursing student at Alvernia.)
But after high school came the wedding and three children
in quick succession. She raised her family. Then, at the age of
32, her husband died from a heart attack. Berger remarried in
1991, and her second husband died last year. Over the years,
she did housekeeping, and in a simple twist of fate, found
herself working for Jerry and Carolyn Holleran at Cedar Hill
Farm — the historic property the Hollerans, both emeritus
Continued on page 52
Alvernia University Magazine
19
Toddler
Kathleen Muzevich is
helping chart a path
today
for talented writers
beginning in … gulp,
kindergarten.
Young students from
the Alvernia Montessori
School develop their
writing skills.
positions, including assistant principal
and principal, believes strongly in
the importance of assessing children
to determine which teaching steps
should be engaged in to maximize
classroom instruction. An important
part of this assessment is an
evaluation of writing.
After all, says Muzevich, recognition
of early writing aptitude is important
because the sooner teachers can
nurture this talent, the better. And the
sooner problems are identified, the
sooner they can be addressed.
“Some early signs of writing
talent will be quick understanding
of the mechanics of writing, such
as capitalization, punctuation and
spelling,” says Muzevich. “On a higher
level, these children will demonstrate
their giftedness through advanced
vocabularies and the way they form
sentences — what we refer to as
‘voice’ and ‘tone.’”
Muzevich’s specific ideas for how to
assess writing come from her practical
experiences working with teachers
and students as well as her in-depth
research into emergent writing
processes.
Through her experiences working
with teachers and students, Muzevich
Theo Anderson
By
Elizabeth
Shimer
Bowers
When she first started working as a
reading supervisor in a public school
district in eastern Pennsylvania nearly
two decades ago, Kathleen Muzevich,
Ed.D., assistant professor of education
at Alvernia, loved watching children’s
language develop.
“Language acquisition of children,
both oral and written, fascinates
me — how writing emerges from
scribbles to words, to phrases and
then to sentences,” Muzevich says.
“At the kindergarten and first-grade
age, children are just so interested in
language, and they grow by leaps and
bounds as they work to acquire the
conventions of the English language,”
she says.
But despite her fascination,
Muzevich, who now teaches reading
and language arts methods courses at
Alvernia, noticed a problem: In public
school, students did not receive a
formal writing assessment until fifth
grade — years after they dotted their
first I and crossed their first T.
“Fifth grade is just too late for a
first writing assessment — children
destined to become talented writers
will show evidence of their gifts
as young as kindergarten and first
grade,” she says.
And so the wheels began to turn.
Muzevich, who has taught at the
elementary, middle and high school
levels, and held various administrative
Tolstoy
tomorrow?
“On a higher level,
these children will
demonstrate their
giftedness through
advanced vocabularies
and the way they form
sentences — what
we refer to as ‘voice’
and ‘tone.’”
Kathleen Muzevich
started to shape a rubric that would
become her research focus for years to
come; a tool that fills the need for an
effective assessment of children’s writing
early in their educational careers.
The culmination of Muzevich’s
experience in teaching, administration
and research on the best ways to
measure writing skill is a new book,
“Evaluating Children’s Emergent
Writing.” “Teachers can use the book
to assess their K-1 children’s writing
and guide their teaching, as well as
to help them share information with
parents in easily understood terms,”
Muzevich says.
Support for
children’s writing
Muzevich says children progress
in writing at their own pace, so
her rubric helps teachers quantify
individual development and present it
from a positive perspective rather than
to point out errors. It helps teachers
determine next steps so they can best
support students in their writing.
With an extensive background
in teaching and administration,
Muzevich says she created the tool
described in “Evaluating Children’s
Emergent Writing” out of a need.
“There were no commercial products
on the market to help assess children’s
writing,” she says. “I saw teachers and
schools trying to develop their own
rubrics without having the time or
expertise to determine if they were
valid.”
In her work, Muzevich
has identified seven essential
components, or domains, of
emergent writing and how to
assess them — letter formation,
capitalization, punctuation, spacing,
spelling, style and content. Each
domain consists of six score points to
Continued on page 59
Alvernia University Magazine
21
S
BEA
T
BROTHER?
or
Challenging question | Complicated answer
By Lini S.
Kadaba
Animals have complicated relationships with their human
counterparts. Sometimes, they are treated as endeared
companions that provide priceless emotional and physical
support. Sometimes, they are test subjects for important
research that helps save lives. In other settings, they become
indentured servants, forms of entertainment or perhaps the
evening meal. Whatever the arena — laboratory or factory farm,
racetrack or home — how animals are used has turned into a
growing source of controversy … and a thorny moral dilemma.
In 1903, Thomas Edison famously
challenged the safety of alternating current
over his own invention of direct current by
performing a simple experiment.
He electrocuted an elephant.
The bicycle-riding Topsy lived at the zoo on
Coney Island and was on death row because
she had crushed three handlers, including
one who had tried to feed her a lit cigarette.
Her owners wanted to publicly hang her, but
that plan was thwarted by the objections of
the American Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). According to
reports, Edison had already subjected stray
cats and dogs as well as horses and even an
orangutan to electrocution; Topsy was his
coup d’état.
On the day of the execution, wooden
sandals with copper electrodes were placed
on the restrained elephant’s feet. While 1,500
spectators watched, a 6,600-volt AC charge
coursed through Topsy’s body. The elephant
toppled over in a haze of smoke and was
killed within seconds, as footage Edison
filmed starkly shows.
Nowadays, the macabre spectacle would
no doubt raise a host of ethical questions. Did
Topsy’s poor treatment by her keepers play a
role in her seemingly brutish behavior? Was
electrocution, used in human executions
since the late 1880s, more humane than
the proposed hanging? Should elephants
be confined in zoos and circuses in the first
place? And on and on.
“We’re dealing with a lot of controversial
issues and strong feelings on both sides of
the arguments,” says Dr. Donna Yarri, an
associate professor of theology at Alvernia
who has written extensively on animal
ethics.
Whatever the arena — laboratory or
factory farm, racetrack or home — how
animals are used has become a growing
source of controversy and moral concern. To
get at some of the most pressing questions,
Yarri created a new, thought-provoking
course at Alvernia — “The Ethical Treatment
of Animals: With a Gaze Toward the Animal.”
In the honors, seminar-style class
developed with the backing of a faculty
excellence grant, assumptions are challenged.
“What is it about animals that enables
us to use them in a way we would not use
humans?” Yarri asks her students. “Part of
the enterprise of ethics is really to look at all
sides of an issue. You need to understand the
reasons for the positions people take.”
Should we eat animals? Should we
keep them as pets? Should we use them in
experiments?
“Virtually all of us are affected by animals
in some context or other,” says wildlife 
Alvernia University Magazine
23
24 Alvernia University Magazine
and Ethics” at Alvernia and directs campus
ministry,“ give that intellectual footing for
all people who are willing to inquire into
these questions.”

Most people in the United States eat meat
and seafood. Most likely spend little time
pondering how that appetizing food gets to
their dinner table.
Any discussion of animal ethics forces a
head-on confrontation with that issue. “The
primary issue is food,” says ethicist Joel
Marks, a professor emeritus of philosophy at
the University of New Haven and a scholar
at the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics
at Yale University. “The reason is the sheer
number of animals involved.”
Each year in the United States, 10.2 billion
land animals — chickens, cows, pigs and
others — are slaughtered for food that makes
its way to the table, according to the United
States Department of Agriculture’s data. Sea
animals add several billion more to the tally.
A diet that includes meat has its benefits. It
contains large amounts of protein, important
for the health and well-being of humans, as
well as vitamins and minerals necessary for
basic functions.
Ethical concerns usually revolve around
how the animal was raised and slaughtered
and, for many, whether killing another
sentient being for a human’s benefit is
morally right.
Factory farms, which dominate U.S. food
production, have come under criticism for
crowding large numbers of animals into small
cages and sheds, and using hormones to
boost production. But there are alternatives.
Grass-fed cattle are growing in popularity,
with chains such as Whole Foods stamping its
meat packages with an animal welfare scale.
“If one is focused on the animal and
eliminating pain, distress, giving the
animal a reasonable quality of life, it is
possible to envision a world where animals
are humanely cared for and humanely
slaughtered, and used by humans,” says
James Serpell, a professor of animal welfare
getty images (2)
Dog racing —
entertaining
competition or
cruel activity?
expert Richard Botzler, co-editor of the
college textbook “The Animal Ethics Reader,”
which Yarri uses. “There are a lot of everyday
ethical issues that come up.”
As part of the class, students volunteer as
cat socializers, dog walkers or kennel cleaners
at the Humane Society of Berks County to
make the ethical issues “more tangible,” Yarri
says.
“The hours at the shelter have been very
eye-opening to me,” says Kathleen Fitzharris,
20, of Smithtown, N.Y., a pre-veterinary
sophomore studying biochemistry. She, like
her peers, was struck by the sheer numbers
— more than 2,000 a year — of abused and
neglected animals left at the shelter.
“It’s so rewarding to work with the cats
and dogs, and see them get adopted. And you
know you played a part in giving that animal
a better life.”
“The Ethical Treatment of Animals” also
explores a variety of perspectives, including
that of animals. Students write essays from,
say, a dolphin’s or hamster’s viewpoint —
as well as that of organizations such as the
ASPCA and People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (PETA). They also have spent
considerable time discussing the person and
theology of St. Francis, the patron saint of
animals and the environment.
Clearly, animal ethics raises a host of
crucial, complex questions. “Courses such
as the one Yarri’s offering,” says Scott
Davidson, who teaches “Green Theology
What constitutes
ethical treatment
of animals is often
defined by the
individual.
at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the
University of Pennsylvania who teaches a
veterinary ethical issues class.
“Really, the ethical issues pertain to the
quality of one’s life and one’s death,” he says.
Groups such as PETA, however, take a
much more radical view that advocates for
animal rights not unlike the fight for civil
rights. In fact, Katie Arth, a campaigner with
PETA, considers animal ethics “the most
important social justice issue of our time …
The more we find out about animals, the
more we find out that they’re more complex
and deserve more consideration for their
suffering every day.”
Yarri explains that animal-rights supporters
often make the Darwinian argument that
humans also are animals.
“The traditional way of understanding
animals both in the Christian tradition and
philosophical tradition have been more of a
hierarchical model,” she says.
Humans are on top — the book of Genesis
says man has “dominion” over animals —
and insects are at the bottom, with various
species in between. In the West, dogs and
cats would be higher up than say, rabbits,
than rats, than fruit flies.
“Charles Darwin was one of the people
who really began to challenge that idea,” 
Alvernia University Magazine
25
similar humans and other animals are, has
increasingly dominated the debate. “At stake
is the treatment of literally billions of animals
in our world,” she says.
Public opinion may well be shifting. For
example, vegetarianism and more recently
veganism, which additionally shuns animal
products, have grown from the fringes to one
more option on restaurant menus or college
campuses.
According to food services provider Bon
Appétit Management Company, the number
of vegetarian and vegan college students
has grown significantly. In a 2006 survey of
students on campuses it oversees, about 8
percent identified as vegetarian and less than
1 percent as vegan. By 2010, vegetarians
had increased to 12 percent and vegans to 2
percent.

In many ways, the scientific use of animals,
particularly to find cures for devastating
human diseases, is perhaps the hardest to
oppose.
Already, research on animals has led to
Theo Anderson
Alvernia students
Kathleen Fitzharris
and Casey Green
lend a hand at the
Humane Society of
Berks County.
says Yarri, whose forthcoming book is titled
“God, Darwin and the Origins of Life.” “Is
there still something special about humans?
Well, yes. But is it as special as we originally
thought? Probably not.”
This perspective has been employed to
ethically challenge the use of animals for
food. “In the killing of animals,” Marks says,
“we’re talking about the killing of sentient
beings who are in most respects like us.”
Concern for animals has a trajectory that
dates to ancient cultural traditions around
the world. But it was the publication of
philosopher Peter Singer’s book “Animal
Liberation” in 1975 that revolutionized
both academic and popular thinking on the
subject.
“If we’re really concerned about cruelty
to animals, it doesn’t just apply to dogs and
cats and horses,” Marks says of “Animal
Liberation,” dubbed the Bible of the animalrights movement. “Pigs, cows, sheep, goats,
chickens, these are all sentient beings, just
like dogs and cats and horses. They are being
treated far more cruelly.”
In the past 40 years, Yarri says, advocacy
for rights, driven by the belief of how
Student Matt
Stauffer and a
four-legged friend
go for a jog at the
Humane Society
of Berks County.
a multitude of discoveries that changed the
course of human history. Included on the list
is the development of vaccines for smallpox
(cow), anthrax (sheep), rabies (dog, rabbit),
polio (mouse, monkey) and tetanus (horse)
and the discovery of insulin (dog, fish) and
organ transplant techniques (dog, pig, sheep,
cow), among many others, according to the
Foundation for Biomedical Research. Federal
legislation also assures basic standards for the
humane treatment of lab animals.
“Almost all research scientists agree that
animal research is critical to understanding
basic biology, discovering new treatments
for human (and animal) diseases, and
maximizing the safety of new medicines,
while minimizing their harm to humans,”
writes D. Eugene Redmond Jr., a professor
of psychiatry and neurosurgery at Yale’s
School of Medicine. He was a contributor to
a 2012 special report on the ethics of medical
research on animals by The Hastings Center,
a nonprofit bioethics institute.
Not all, however, find the practice ethical,
depending on your view of moral theories.
Those who embrace Utilitarianism seek
the greatest good or happiness. “The ends
justify the means,” says Marks, who also
contributed to the Hastings report. From this
point of view, if medical research on animals
provides more benefit than cost, it would be
condoned, even obligated.
On the other hand, supporters of
Kantianism, based on the philosophy of
Immanuel Kant, hold that one should never
use a rational being as merely an end. Kant
excluded animals, which he did not consider
capable of reasoning. Still, animal-rights
advocates often latch on to his notion of
treating others with respect, as an end to
itself, rather than as a means to an end.
Taking this view, animals should not be
experimented upon, even if a greater good is
achievable. “You are treating them merely as
a means,” Marks says. “If you could ask them
for consent, they would not give it.”
The same logic could extend to other
arenas of animal use. “Animal-rights folks
believe we should just leave other animals
alone,” he says. “In the end, the best
situation would be for all other animals to be
wild animals.”
So, where does this extreme stance leave
Continued on page 54
Alvernia University Magazine
27
project in the MBA program. “I was using
skill sets I was learning (in the MBA program)
to set up this new corporation,” says Brown,
who today also serves as medical director of
the Cancer Center at Reading Hospital, and is
a Fellow in the Society of Surgical Oncology,
the American College of Surgeons and the
American Society of Clinical Oncology. He
also serves as Cancer Liaison Physician to the
American College of Surgeons.
Brown knew he would need to spend more
time managing the new Spring Ridge Surgical
Specialists (he estimates he spends 75 percent
ecovery is painfully if not tragically slow in the poor
of his time on medicine and surgery, and 25
percent on administration). He also understood
island nation of Haiti. More than three years after the
that management required a different skill set
than being a surgeon, one that would equip
tiny country was devastated by an earthquake while still
him “to sit at the table with administrators.”
recovering from the 2008 tsunami and hurricane, reconstruction
“The strong part of the program was really
strategic
planning,” Brown says of his Alvernia
is negligible. More than 350,000 Haitians are languishing in
experience. “That, to me, was the core of the
tent camps. Earlier this year, Dr. Michael T. Brown MBA ’07—a
program, in being able to set out a strategic plan
— set out a vision, break it down into manageable
founder of Spring Ridge Surgical Specialists in Wyomissing, Pa.,
steps, and have strategic implementation so that
you actually achieve your goal.”
who specializes in surgical oncology — joined a weeklong medical
It also provided an excellent grounding in
mission trip to northern Haiti, lending his considerable skills to relieve finances, accounting, statistics and leadership, Brown says.
“Alvernia was teaching us to be leaders, not bosses. And there’s a
suffering there. He went with a group of 22 physicians and healthdifference,” he says.
care providers from Reading, Connecticut and California.
Calling on Franciscan values, the program stressed the need to
It had been at least six months since any of the locals had seen a
respect workers as individuals and bring the team along to reach a
doctor, according to Brown. “There is some medical care, but you
goal that everybody has in common.
have to pay for it. And since they can’t afford it, it’s like it doesn’t
“In order to be successful, you have to be successful the right way,”
exist for most of the people.”
“We saw 1,400 patients and did 108 operations,” Brown says. All, it Brown says. “And how you treat people is very important because
that’s the foundation of your business, the foundation of your
should be noted, at no cost to the recipients.
reputation, the foundation of your character. Taking shortcuts and
Operating under conditions that tested even the most skilled
climbing over co-workers isn’t going to get you where you want to be
surgeons and often using only local anesthesia, Brown performed
if you’re leading an organization.”
mastectomies and hernias.
A mission trip to the Dominican Republic was a key part of
It’s unlikely any of those receiving medical aid would have gotten
Brown’s MBA experience. The whole class went to a school and
the care they so desperately needed if it were not for an inspired “call
to serve” felt by each of the doctors. For Brown, who was on his third convent, operated by the Bernardine Sisters who founded Alvernia,
and put together from scratch a successful fundraising program that
trip, that call first came in 2007 when he made his initial overseas
raised more than $100,000 to build a second floor on the facility.
mission as part of Alvernia’s MBA program.
“I always had an inclination to do an overseas mission trip,” Brown
The Philadelphia native, who graduated from the University
says. “The MBA class gave me the opportunity.”
of Scranton and Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson
He has since gone back to the Dominican Republic on a Faith Care
University, was already an accomplished surgeon active in the cancer
mission trip, in addition to his recent Haiti trip.
field. When Brown decided to get his MBA, he was president of
The son of a Philadelphia Fire Department battalion chief, Brown
Wyomissing Surgical Clinic, a practice with three doctors. One of his
always had a penchant for science in school and discovered his
partners, Dr. Joseph R. Levan, had earned his MBA at Alvernia and
interest in medicine in the Boy Scouts, where he rose to the rank of
recommended the program to Brown.
Eagle Scout.
At the time, Wyomissing Surgical Clinic was planning to merge
with Reading Surgical Specialists, headed by Dr. Thomas C. Beetel,
and Brown used the formation of the new group as his capstone
Continued on page 60
26 Alvernia University Magazine
28
Theo Anderson
R
Renowned oncology
surgeon Dr. Michael T.
Brown came to Alvernia
for an MBA to learn how
to effectively manage
an organization. He
left with much more
than a degree, having
discovered the true
meaning of leadership
and the rewards of using
life-saving skills to help
those most in need.
Saving
lives
Serving others
By Jack Croft
Dr. Brown during a recent mission trip.
26 Alvernia University Magazine
30
C
H
E
C
K
Real-world,
experiential learning
is giving college
students the types
of know-how
employers are
looking for, and
students the skills
and training theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll
need to succeed.
By Julia
VanTine
In an Association of American Colleges and Universities
national survey, more than 75 percent of employers said they
wanted colleges to put more emphasis on five key areas including
critical thinking, complex problem solving, written and oral communication
and applied knowledge in real-world settings.
Alvernia
students Eric
Schweitzer
and Ashley
Bauscher
developed
valuable
skills, while
making a
positive
impact in the
community
by helping
Reading,
Pa., citizens
prepare
tax forms.
M
assive Open Online Courses
(MOOCs) allow academic rock stars
to share their prerecorded lectures
with students on campuses across the
nation and even with yak herders
in Tibet. (Really.) There’s intense
debate as to whether the rise of the
MOOCs heralds the collapse of higher
education, or its renaissance. But as
32 Alvernia University Magazine
traditional academics turn a skeptical
eye, a growing number of campuses
are signing on with the companies
(both for profit and non profit) that
offer them.
 More and more professors armed
with webcams and a belief in active
learning are “flipping the classroom.”
With this model, they put their
lectures online, which frees up class
time for guided discussion, debate
and reflection.
 Conferencing systems and virtual
learning environments such as
Blackboard are making it easier for
professors and students to connect
online. With such tools, busy
distance-learning students can study
when it suits their schedules — the
“different time, different place”
model of communication called
asynchronous online learning — or
“meet” as a class in real time for
streaming video lectures, online
labs and chat-room discussions
(the “same time, same place”
synchronous model).
There is no question online learning can
increase access to higher education and
lower costs — definite advantages in a down
economy. But no matter how interactive, it
robs students of direct face-to-face interaction
and the opportunity to learn by doing.
Hands-on learning:
always in style
At Alvernia, experiential learning, which
turns the whole world into a classroom,
gives students the hands-on experience and
skills employers demand. The university’s
broad mix of learn-by-doing opportunities
includes internships, field work, work/
study, study-abroad programs as well as
service learning, a hybrid of experiential
learning and community service. “Our ‘learn
by doing’ philosophy blends professional
skills development with opportunities for
community service,” says Provost Shirley
Williams. “That helps students discover —
and pursue — their passion, while providing
meaningful opportunities to make a positive
difference in the lives of others.” Williams says
Alvernia’s faculty members understand that
students learn best when lessons come alive
through out-of-the-classroom experiences
and that real-world learning helps students
develop capabilities that enable them to thrive
in the uncertain circumstances of life.
Service learning fosters a deeper
understanding of subject matter than
classroom learning alone and aligns with
Alvernia’s Franciscan tradition of “knowledge
joined with love.” Teamed with the
university’s community partners — more than
50 in all — students use what they learn in
real workplaces, while serving their neighbors.
“Students get hands-on experience,
and connections for internships and jobs.
Theo Anderson
I
f you remember buying your first
record album, you probably watched
“The Paper Chase,” a TV drama about
first-year students at Harvard Law
School. In the character of Professor Charles
W. Kingsfield, Jr., actor John Houseman
gave the American public its most enduring
visual cliché of higher education: the
cantankerous professor at the lectern,
dispensing wisdom and withering glances to
a room of silent students.
But to today’s generation of academics
and students, that image is going the way
of the yellow highlighter. At Alvernia,
students do as much learning off campus
as on, and “class” might meet at the nearby
police academy, an area hospital, TV station
or elementary school, an organic farm in
Kutztown or even the floor of Parliament
in London.
Meanwhile, on other campuses across
the nation, the opposite is occurring, and
“going to class” increasingly means firing
up a laptop:
Community partners get the help they need.
It’s a win/win,” says Jodi Radosh, Ph.D.,
associate director of the Holleran Center
for Community Engagement, who oversees
Alvernia’s service-learning curriculum.
Professor Radosh, also an associate
professor of English and communication,
should know. Her students hone their writing
and reporting skills at area TV stations and
PR firms, and have landed internships and
jobs at national media outlets, including
CNN and ESPN, as well as local and national
corporations and public service institutions.
The university promotes its approach to
real-world learning through a new program
called “Get Real” that helps students
understand the opportunities and benefits
afforded to them through outside-theclassroom learning options. “Real-world
learning is a powerful way for students to get
all they can from their Alvernia experience,”
says Brad Drexler, Alvernia’s vice president
for marketing and communications.
“Experiential learning opportunities allow
students to translate theory-based concepts
from the classroom into practice and offer
the chance to “reality-check” possible careers
before students complete their degree.”
Each year, more than 1,300 Alvernia
students participate in some type of
experiential-learning initiative. From
presenting at national conferences and
leading student organizations, to using stateof-the-art laser equipment and treating
patients. Alvernia students have their
sleeves rolled up as they engage in hands-on
learning programs that give them a taste of
the real world. They are experiences that
provide them with skills that are tested, and
proven, in actual work environments.
And experts see experiential and service
learning as more vital than ever.
Their support comes at a critical point:
“the confrontation of higher education and
diminishing resources intersect as we hear
increased calls for excellence,” says Ashley
Finley, Ph.D., senior director of assessment
and research at the American Association of
Colleges and Universities (AAC&U).
The Obama administration’s call for civic
participation has “encouraged learning that
connects to the community and fosters
citizenship,” says Patrick M. Green, Ed.D,
director of the Center for Experiential
Learning at Loyola University Chicago.
These twin appeals for excellence and civic
engagement come not just from advocates
of higher education, but business leaders.
In a 2013 survey of business and nonprofit
employers, more than 75 percent said they
want more emphasis on five key areas
including: critical thinking, complex problem
solving, written and oral communication, and
Continued on page 58
Aspiring marketing
pros ‘Get Real’
Alvernia’s Marketing and Communication Association has undergone a redesign: It’s morphed
from a student-led club to a student-run marketing agency, called Professional Edge, where
tomorrow’s marketing and communications pros are gaining real-world experience in the field today.
Sophomores Deven Samson, pictured above, and Shannon Browne led the club’s transformation,
guided by advisor Audrey Hoffman, marketing coordinator for the marketing and communications
department, and Brad Drexler, the university’s vice president of marketing and communications.
The agency’s first client was the Jesuit Center in Wernersville, a national destination for
retreats and spiritual development. At an initial meeting last fall, Samson, Browne and Hoffman
met with Jesuit Center Marketing Director Pam Kubacki to trade ideas. Since then, the agency
has “hired” managers for marketing research, advertising, graphic and web design, and social
media and recently met at the Center for an in-depth brainstorming session.
“Our main focus is the beauty of the Jesuit Center’s grounds,” says Samson. To showcase
this beauty, the agency may create a virtual tour. Also in the works: a new logo, website
redesign, increased social media presence and an analysis of the center’s demographics with
the goal of attracting more Catholic high school and college students to its retreats.
“We will be developing new ways to share the center’s core assets … its talented spiritual
leaders, gorgeous facility, picturesque grounds and the amazing testimonials of its past
guests,” said Samson. “Our goal is to not only to create new ways to advertise and market
the Jesuit Center, but to train the Center’s staff on how to continue to use new techniques and
technologies moving forward.”
The Professional Edge team in action at The Jesuit Center.
A
Bringing
his
I
t’s a tough time to be an administrator in a
Catholic school system. For decades, since
enrollment peaked at 5.2 million students in
almost 13,000 Catholic schools nationally in
the 1960s, administrators have been faced with
closings and consolidations.
By 1990, Catholic schools were down to just 2.5
million students — less than half the number they
educated at their peak. Following a slight upward
trend in the 1990s, Catholic schools have lost more
than 651,000 students — a precipitous 24.5 percent
fall in enrollment — across the nation since 2000.
Among dioceses in Pennsylvania, only one
showed enrollment gains during the current school
year — the Diocese of Allentown, where Philip
Fromuth, Ph.D. ’12 is superintendent.
Fromuth has made many key decisions during his
decade as secretary of education and superintendent
of schools for the diocese. He’s closed schools
and merged others, and launched a pair of key
leadership programs. Last year, he was part of a
diocesan team that helped halt the long decline in
enrollment for the diocese, which has nearly 12,300
students at 48 schools in five counties.
In 2012-13, the Allentown Diocese gained about
50 students, ending a decade of annual 3-4 percent
decreases. Fromuth attributes the rise in enrollment
to careful planning, the leadership of Bishop Barres
and the Bishop's Commission on Catholic Schools,
as well as the efforts of dedicated pastors, principals,
teachers and parents.
“If you’re not looking ahead, you’re going to be
mired in the day-to-day,” he says. “I think we can
be satisfied in the present. But we can be fulfilled in
the future.”
Fromuth’s job is both familiar and familial. He
grew up in the Allentown Diocese. He attended
Central Catholic High School in Reading, where as a
senior he averaged 10 points a game as a basketball
forward. His mother was a homemaker and teacher;
his father was a junior high school principal.
Fromuth’s diocesan career began in 1980 as a
teacher at St. Catharine of Siena School in Mount
Penn, a Berks County borough. Four years later, he
became principal of Holy Guardian Angels School in
Reading. Over the next 16 years, he supervised a wide
range of changes, including a large building project.
For most of those years, he doubled as the regional
chairperson of Catholic principals in Berks County and
tripled as a basketball official. He insists that running
the court, making calls and ignoring catcalls helped
reduce his stress as an educational point guard.
Fromuth retired as a referee in 2000 to protect
an old damaged disc and prepare for a new role as
the Allentown Diocese’s assistant superintendent of
elementary education. Two years later, he became
the diocese’s chief of education. In his first year,
34 Alvernia University Magazine
As a former referee,
Philip J. Fromuth, Ph.D. ’12
has a lot of experience
making tough calls.
Now, he’s doing it for
12,000 students in 48
schools in the sprawling
Diocese of Allentown.
Theo Anderson
Continued on page 53
GAME
By Geoff Gehman
peaceful
ambitions
With knowledge comes the power to
change — and even save — lives. That’s
a lesson Kate Roesch ’12 applies every
day as a Peace Corps volunteer in the
East African nation of Uganda.
36 Alvernia University Magazine
By Geoff
Gehman
Each year, malaria kills 12 of every 1,000
Ugandans, including 16 percent of children under
the age of 5. In 2011, the Peace Corps launched an
initiative called Stomping Out Malaria in Africa that
seeks to eradicate the disease by 2015.
It’s an ambitious goal. And to achieve it, the
Peace Corps is going to need more recruits like
Kate Roesch ’12.
Roesch, an elementary education graduate, has
been in the Ugandan city of Mbale since November,
educating college students on how to teach primary
school children. She wasted no time in applying her
talents to an anti-malaria crusade, compiling a book
with treatments and tools, including medicines and
mosquito-net hammocks.
Her “big book” was distributed in April during
Malaria Awareness Month, a “very cool” coup for
a young American new to Africa. For even more
exposure, her students also took part in a two-weeklong malaria scavenger hunt created by Roesch.
Malaria is “very preventable,” says Roesch from
a Mbale café with an Internet connection strong
enough for a Skype conversation. “Once people
have that knowledge, they have the power. But
there has to be 100 percent participation. One sick
person can spread a lot of sickness.”
Her main job in Mbale is teaching science courses
at a government school, ranging from Electricity and
Magnetism to “The World of Living Things.” She
didn’t know she would also be teaching a computer
class, but as it turns out, the art of surprise and
Kate Roesch, upper
right, is spending her
first three years after
graduation helping
educate Ugandan
children as a Peace
Corps volunteer.
flexibility are Peace Corps staples. Luckily for her,
her lessons have been popular and include practical
tips like turning the computer on and off; creating a
document and typing as accurately as possible.
In addition to aiding the campaign to stomp out
malaria, Roesch also is trying to boost Uganda’s
literacy rate, which is 73 percent among those 15
and older. Roesch and her site partner, Eric, have
been teaching the building blocks of visual language
— sounds, shapes, meanings and associations — by
reading aloud. She is even planning a workshop
on the topic for future use. Her goal is to get her
students, and their students, “to not just memorize,
but really think critically.”
And as if teaching college students and combating
malaria and illiteracy aren’t enough, Roesch also
hopes to work in the arts and crafts club extending
a fondness for the area, confirmed by her nickname
— “Krafty.” Either way, she’ll be working with the
Integrated Production Skills (arts) tutor to create
and teach instructional materials.
Roesch caught the volunteering bug from a high
school ceramics teacher. At Alvernia she expanded
her mission, serving at a food bank in York County,
traveling to Ecuador with Rostro de Christo for an
Alternative Break, and helping the nuns with their
ongoing mission in the Dominican Republic. She
did most of her good deeds at the South Reading
Youth Initiative, a branch of Alvernia’s Holleran
Continued on page 53
For the love of
F
“When Ethan was born via C-section,
my husband passed out as soon as he saw
him,” recalls Abraham, who graduated from
Alvernia in May with a bachelor’s degree in
behavioral health. Ethan’s condition, tibial
hemimelia, made his right leg crooked and
four centimeters shorter than his left.
“Every doctor I saw told me I needed to
amputate … but as a mother, I knew deep
in my heart I could not let someone cut my
baby’s leg,” she says. Plus, experience was
on her side.
It was only a few years earlier when
doctors had told Abraham that her older
son Jayden would never walk or talk.
“He’s doing both now, so I was less willing
to believe the doctors who told me they
couldn’t save Ethan’s leg,” she says.
So Abraham and her husband hunted
for and eventually found a surgeon in
New York willing to operate on Ethan. The
decision meant multiple rounds of painful
surgery and treatments for Ethan, and
extensive financial hardship for the family.
Endless surgeries, physical therapy sessions,
medications and trips back and forth from
Berks County to New York City have taken
their toll, financially and physically.
But it’s all been worth it for the resilient
family. Today, although he still faces
additional surgery, Ethan is walking, and
Farah is poised for a promising future.
A desire ‘to do more’
As she pursued her degree, it wasn’t
38 Alvernia University Magazine
unusual to see Abraham toting her boys
along with her on campus to the library
or writing lab. The daughter of a Haitian
mother who worked hard her whole life as
a nursing assistant, Abraham juggled a full
class schedule as an undergraduate student
and an internship while caring for her two
young boys with special needs.
Her love for her sons guided many of her
decisions, including her choice to attend
Alvernia.
“I was working in a nursing home — a
job all my family members have held — and
I thought, ‘I want to do more,’” she says.
“I want my boys to say, ‘English wasn’t her
first language, but my mommy still went to
school to better herself.’”
Having obtained her general equivalency
diploma and achieved remarkable grades,
Abraham was accepted into Alvernia’s
behavioral health program.
And so with the financial and emotional
support of her husband, whom she calls
“her rock,” Abraham started her education
at Alvernia and has never looked back.
Making it count
In the midst of late nights spent studying
and holed up in writing labs developing
term papers — which involved writing in
her native language of French Creole and
then translating to English — Abraham
admits many times she was ready to quit.
Continued on page 56
Theo Anderson
By
Elizabeth
Shimer
Bowers
arah Abraham knows about adversity.
Four years ago, when her son Ethan was
born with a rare genetic disease that left him
without a right tibia, Abraham made one of
the most difficult decisions of her life — to
save Ethan’s leg.
Ethan
“I want my boys
to say, ‘English
wasn’t her first
language, but
my mommy still
went to school to
better herself.’ ”
Farah Abraham ’13
Body
Mind
Morality
Bongrae Seok
delves into how
basic moral abilities
are built into our
physical bodies â&#x20AC;Ś
and why penguins
donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fall off the
South Pole.
38 Alvernia University Magazine
By Elizabeth
Shimer Bowers
“I thought, the earth is
round and the penguins
are on the south side
… they are supposed
to fall off, but yet they
survive … But then I
discovered penguins
didn’t fall due to gravity.
From then on, I wanted
to know more …”
Bongrae Seok
top right: Theo Anderson
M
any children have trouble sleeping
because of visions of four-eyed
monsters hiding in the closet. But
when Bongrae Seok, Ph.D., associate
professor of philosophy at Alvernia, was young,
he lay awake thinking about penguins.
“I thought, the earth is round and the penguins
are on the south side of the earth — they are
supposed to fall off, but yet they survive …”
he recalls. “But then I discovered penguins
didn’t fall due to gravity.” That was the end of
Seok’s nighttime worries, and the beginning
of his passion for philosophy. “From then on, I
wanted to know more, and ask more and more
questions,” he says.
Seok says one of the things he loves about
philosophy is its focus on excellence. By forcing
us to ask questions and fight the status quo, it
helps us become better and better human beings
every day.
His latest philosophical question gets at the
heart of what makes us good people — our moral
consciousness. From the time we are young, most
of us learn we have the power to choose between
right and wrong, and that we make moral
decisions after thinking about them carefully,
and weighing pros and cons in our minds. But
according to the theory Seok proposes in his
new book, there may be another critical factor
at play in moral decision making — how we feel
physically.
The book, “Embodied Moral Psychology
and Confucian Philosophy,” combines ancient
Chinese philosophy and contemporary cognitive
neuroscience to deliver the message that our basic
moral abilities are built into our physical bodies.
“We, of course, need careful analysis and
deliberation for complicated moral issues. But
for our everyday dealings with other people, we
are very much moral animals as we are social
animals, and our bodies tell that to us,” Seok says.
The power of other people’s pain
Seok uses horror movies to explain the
connection between how we feel emotionally and
how we feel physically.
“When we see other people suffering with
physical pain (in these movies), we experience
physical changes, such as perspiration, increased
blood pressure, shortness of breath, etc. — and we
feel as if we have similar pain in our bodies,” Seok
says. “Brain scans show that the areas of the brain
active in a person’s pain experience are generally
the same as the areas of the brain active when
we watch other people suffer. That is, we mirror
other people’s pain,” he says.
Seok says this mirroring of others’ pain is
important for two reasons.
“One, this mirroring experience is supported by
brain regions that typically process information
Continued on page 57
Alvernia University Magazine
41
After two tours of duty in Iraq,
Brian Johnson has a new
focus: helping other veterans
productive civilian lives.
Time is a thief, so some would say. But
when first-year student Brian Johnson
returned home from Iraq in 2008, time
became his menace. “As a Calvary Scout,
I went from working 48 to 72 hours
nonstop to having all this downtime
at home — and I was left with all the
experiences playing over in my head.
“In some instances, there are big
chunks of missing time because so much
happened at once, and I have a hard
time processing it,” he says. “These
lingering thoughts are one of my biggest
struggles right now …”
A veteran Army Scout who toured
Iraq twice between 2005 and 2012,
Johnson enrolled at Alvernia last winter
with the goal to pursue a degree in
communication and to assist fellow
armed forces veterans with the same
struggles he is facing.
“When I came back from my first
deployment …, which was the rougher
of the two, one of the hardest things was
when people would say, ‘I know how
you feel,’ when really, they couldn’t,” he
says.
“We all appreciate hearing ‘thank you
for your service,’ but I don’t really like
when people who’ve never served tell
me they understand what I’m going
through,” he says. “If you haven’t
experienced war firsthand, in real time,
you cannot possibly understand.”
So to give veterans the kind of
assistance they really crave — support
from those who’ve gone through the
same thing — Johnson is setting out
to create a nonprofit organization that
provides help to vets, from vets.
A different kind of training
Compared to many typical college
42 Alvernia University Magazine
students, Johnson has lived an
action-filled life, traveling the world,
seeing different cultures up close and
experiencing armed combat firsthand.
He admits that, despite being caught up
in the horrors of war, his seven years in
the Army provided him many valuable
lessons. “(My time in the military)
taught me to be disciplined, to have
good time management skills and to be
prepared for anything, because there
were a lot of situations I didn’t expect
to encounter,” he says. “Overall, it made
me a better person.”
In preparation to develop his nonprofit program concept to help veterans,
Johnson found an academic home at
Alvernia. “Plus, the degree is something
I just want to do for myself,” Johnson
says, who, in addition to being a college
student, is also a stay-at-home dad.
“I was pretty much sold on Alvernia
after the campus tour, and I chose
communication because the curriculum
really interested me.”
One thing Johnson didn’t expect was
an injury between his first and second
deployments to Iraq, for which he
By
Elizabeth
Shimer
Bowers
required surgery. “The doctors told me I
needed to stay back and heal for three to
four months after my unit left for Iraq,
but somehow I was sent with everyone
else.” As a result, the surgery didn’t heal
correctly, and Johnson got to the point
where he could barely walk.
“I still have some physical issues
as a result of that injury, which will
require additional surgeries, as well
as some herniated discs in my lower
back,” he says. “But all and all, I am
up and moving around, and that is
always a plus.”
Johnson says he developed the idea for
the nonprofit while he was stationed in
Fort Carson, Colorado, in 2010. “Every
year, they had a drive for the homeless
and less fortunate veterans in the area.
The Department of Veterans Affairs
would be there to follow up on any
medical care they needed and basically
just to give them a helping hand,” he
recalls. “I saw a lot of veterans there who
weren’t doing very well.”
The experience made Johnson think,
Continued on page 60
Theo Anderson
make the transition back into
Blood
Profile Brian Johnson
Alvernia University Magazine
45
Making Sense
It’s springtime in Nigeria and construction abounds, with all the
traffic snarls you expect in any major metropolitan environment.
Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city with nearly 8 million
residents, bustles with thriving commercial and tourism trades.
The city is also home to the country’s top financial institutions
and major corporations, and has one of the highest standards
of living in Nigeria. Famous throughout Africa for its music
scene and as the center of the Nigerian movie industry, Lagos
is sometimes called ‘Nollywood’ — short for Nigerian Hollywood.
44 Alvernia University Magazine
quieter, there was a lot more foliage, and people
were a lot friendlier there than in Lagos,” he recalls.
“Sure, the phone signals weren’t as good, but I
enjoyed having a lot more room to roam and have
fun. Plus, the food tasted a lot better and didn’t
smell like exhaust fumes.”
Preserving his Igbo culture
Njoku-Browne left his home country six years ago
with his aunt and uncle, who moved to the United
States for better opportunities and to pursue an
American education. Before enrolling in Alvernia, he
spent some time in a boarding school in Maryland
and admits that making sense of America came with
its own set of challenges.
For one, he had to adapt to a much more
technologically based society. “Electronics are a lot
bigger part of society here than in Nigeria, and I had
to learn all these new things when I got here, like
Internet terms and Internet culture in general,” he
says. “The food, accents and social norms were also
adjustments.
“Some of the challenges for me included dealing
with people’s different views from my own, the
different spellings of words such as favour and favor,
and people calling football soccer!” he says.
When it came time for college, Njoku-Browne
chose Alvernia because he wanted a small, quiet
campus that would allow for more one-on-one
Continued on page 55
Theo Anderson
Although it’s a scene 5,300 miles away, it is one
that is quite familiar to Chidumebi Ikechi NjokuBrowne, who hails from the Igbo Tribe in Nigeria.
The first-year Alvernia political science major came
to the United States in 2007 after spending most of
his life in the former Nigerian capital. His mother is
an executive with a Nigerian oil company; his father
a member of British Parliament.
“My life in Lagos was always full of noise, mostly
from the heavy traffic,” says Njoku-Browne, who
is only half Igbo, the other half English. “There was
never a dull moment there — one day, I would be
walking to school and see birds flying overhead,
and the next, I would come across a random camel
outside someone’s gate,” he says.
“Sadly, there is lots of corruption in the Nigerian
government, and the North is dealing with its own
branch of Islamic terrorists who call themselves Boko
Haram — their agenda is to impose Sharia (Islamic)
Law on the entire country and get rid of Western
education,” he says.
A seasoned world traveler who has been to every
continent except Antarctica, and is fluent in no less
than five languages — Ibo, Hausa, English, Yaruba
and French — Njoku-Browne recalls fondly some of
his time in Nigeria. “I had lots of friends but tended
to spend most of my time buried in books, whether
novels … on history or science,” he says.
To balance the hustle and bustle of city life,
Njoku-Browne’s family spent some time in their
rural ancestral village. “The village was a lot
of America
By
Elizabeth
Shimer
Bowers
“My life in Lagos
was always full
of noise, mostly
from the heavy
traffic I would
always see
during the day.”
NjokuBrowne
Alumni Class Notes
Ginny Chudgar ’69 is a
mentor for Mentors for Berks
Youth. She was featured in the
Merchandiser with her mentee
Paula Beltron, a junior at Alvernia
University who won an essay
contest for valuing her mentorship
with Ginny.
1970s
SR. ROSEMARY STETS, OSF
’71 was featured in the Reading
Eagle about the life of her spiritual
director, the Rev. Walter J. Ciszek.
Sr. Rosemary reflected on Ciszek’s
life during a presentation for
about 45 people at the McGlinn
Conference Center.
Judge Linda K. (Mowson)
Ludgate ’77 retired at the end
of 2012. Subject to the state’s
mandatory retirement at age 70
for judges, Ludgate will continue
to work as a senior judge for
up to 10 days a month. For her
dedication and contributions
to the community, she recently
received the top award from the
Berks County Bar Association: the
Justice William Strong Award.
Charles R. Broad ’78,
M’06 is a commissioner for the
Hawk Mountain Council of the Boy
Scouts.
Cheryl (Reid) Callahan
’79 was featured in the Reading
Eagle’s “Campus to Career”
section. The article discussed how
Cheryl ended up in her current
position as president and owner
of Profiles Encourage Inc., after
graduating from Alvernia.
46 Alvernia University Magazine
1980s
Steven Keiser ’80 was
featured in a Reading Eagle article
about rising housing costs. Many
people can’t afford to pay rent,
even when they work. Steve is
president of the Berks County Real
Estate Investors Association and
an Alvernia trustee.
Mary Lou Kline ’81 was
featured in the Reading Eagle’s
“Campus to Career” section,
which focuses on alumni from local
colleges and universities in Berks
County.
David Yoch ’82 has been a
Wyomissing police officer for 27
years with the last 14 years as a
detective. He is also on the District
Attorney’s major crimes and drug
task force, is a negotiator with
the Berks County Emergency
Response Team, teaches law
enforcement and fire training
classes, and is currently serving
as captain of the Shillington Fire
Department.
Col. Deborah Geiger ’83
received special recognition at
the Business and Professional
Women of Pennsylvania’s
annual dinner.
Kevin Georgetti ’85 is
the Director of Compliance for
Investors Bank in Short Hills, N.J.
Jeffrey Gregro ’88 is a
deputy chief of juvenile probation.
Jeffrey has served 18 years in
juvenile probation, including four
as deputy chief; and was a former
youth care worker at Berks County
Youth Detention Center.
Kimberly (Bodick)
Nicolas ’88 was named the
director of sales for Courtyard
by Marriott in Coatesville, Pa.
She has nearly 25 years of
hospitality experience and will
be responsible for the total
sales efforts at the Courtyard
Coatesville, including developing
and maintaining new accounts,
supervising sales-related
personnel, and implementing sales
and marketing strategies so as to
maximize profits of the hotel while
maintaining guest satisfaction.
Peter Champagne ’89 has
been named broker of record at
Keller Williams Realty Elite, Spring
Township. He is responsible for
directing and supervising the
activities of the licensed real
estate agents within the company.
Peter will also be responsible for
remaining current on real estate
law, disclosures and contracts,
and updating the staff and licensed
agents about any changes in laws
or licensure requirements. He was
named president of the ReadingBerks Association of Realtors for
2013.
Dwayne Salem ’89 has
been hired as a crop insurance
sales representative for Mid
Atlantic Farm Credit’s Penn
region. Dwayne’s responsibility
will be business development
and acquiring new crop
Theo Anderson
1960s
Timothy Daley ’79 was
featured in the Reading Eagle’s
“Faces in the News” section for
his position as executive director
at Habitat for Humanity of Berks
County.
insurance customers throughout
the 15-county territory in
southeastern Pa., which makes
up the Penn region.
1990s
Lori (McIntosh) DiGuardi
’90 is attending Neumann
University’s Master of Science
in Organizational and Strategic
Leadership.
Patrick J. Palmer ’90
passed away suddenly on Feb. 7,
2013, in the Pottstown Memorial
Medical Center. He is survived by
his wife Joanne and children Keith,
Kelly and Allison.
Lisa (Vogel) Duffy ’91
was promoted to director of
marketing and development and
community health improvement
at Hanover Hospital. She will
continue to be responsible for the
coordination of all promotional
advertising activities for the
hospital and its operating units,
and will now also oversee
the planning process for the
hospital’s annual golf tournament.
She will be responsible for
employee wellness programming
and working with community
businesses to help them reduce
employee health expenses.
Deborah (Rios) Reinbold
’92 is currently enrolled in the
healthcare administrative program
at York College.
Lori (Reedy) Hagy ’94,
M’95 was one of approximately
500 financial advisors who were
selected by their firms to attend
the seventh annual Barron’s
Winner’s Circle Top Women
Advisors Summit, hosted by
Barron’s magazine to promote
best practices in the industry
and the value of advice to the
investing public. The invitationonly conference was held at The
Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla.
Elizabeth (Kocher)
Bentz ’95 and her husband,
David Bentz ’94, were part
of the Shillington Tree Advisory
Committee that helped plant 45
trees in Shillington Park. Elizabeth
is a borough council member who
oversees the committee.
Sgt. Mark German ’95
is now assigned to Operations
Division 1st Patrol Platoon of the
Bethlehem Police Department. Sgt.
German joined the department in
January 1999. He was assigned
to the Patrol Division and has
worked with the department’s 4th
Platoon for the past 14 years. He
is the recipient of seven letters
of commendation and four unit
citations.
Yvonne Frey
Oppenheimer ’95, M’01 was
named as one of the “2013 Take
the Lead” honorees by the Girl
Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania.
Yvonne was selected by a group
of peers for being a positive role
model for girls in her community.
Andrea Marie Fisher ’96
works as a litigation paralegal at
Orlans Moran PLLC, in Boston.
Orlans Moran primarily works
with real estate, foreclosures,
evictions and bankruptcies.
Andrea has been named co-chair
of the Massachusetts Paralegal
Follow Alvernia alumni on
Steven Keiser ’80 was featured in a recent Reading Eagle
article about rising housing costs.
Association and is a member of
the American Freelance Paralegal
Association.
Anthony Gudoski ’96 is
currently enrolled in the Medical
University of South Carolina’s
Doctor of Nursing Practice
program to be completed in May
2015.
Amy (McDonald) Tripple
’97 and her husband Tom
welcomed their third daughter
into the world on December 18,
2012. Violet Rae weighed 10
pounds, 2 ounces, and was 22
inches long. She joins big sisters
Ava and Lily. 
twitter.com/Alvernia_Alumni
Alvernia University Magazine
47
Mitchell Less ’98 and his
wife Megan welcomed Brayden
David Thomas Less into the world
on March 22, 2013. Brayden
weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces,
and was 19 inches long.
2000s
Kevin DeAcosta ’00 was
named president of The Highlands
at Wyomissing. Kevin has been
both the interim president and chief
financial officer for the past year.
John Gallagher ’00 is
director of student involvement at
Merrimack College. He has two
children: a daughter Angelina (born
May 2010) and son Charles (born
June 2012). He and his family live
in Boston, Mass., where his wife
Kristen works for Harvard University.
Dr. Charles F. Barbera
M’01, chairman of the Department
of Emergency Medicine at the
Reading Hospital, was elected
to a three-year term on the
Pennsylvania Trauma Systems
Foundation board of directors as a
representative of the Pennsylvania
48 Alvernia University Magazine
Join Alvernia on
Marianne Sharon ’08, M’11 was featured in the Reading Eagle for starting Berks
County’s first pet loss bereavement support group.
Chapter of the American College of
Emergency Physicians. Barbera is
also a trustee at Alvernia.
Kevin Quimby ’01 is the head
basketball coach at Tulpehocken
School District. The team is hoping
to go to Florida to take part in the
KSA Basketball Tournament at
the ESPN Wide World of Sports
Complex at Walt Disney World.
Sarah M. (Hirneisen)
Grace ’02 passed away on
January 9, 2013.
Jodi (Harner) Moore ’02
has been named a loan
administrative assistant at the
Wyomissing Loan Office of
Victory Bank.
Sharon Danks ’03, M’04,
vice president of Tweed-Weber
Inc., is a 25-year veteran of the
training and consulting industry.
She also creates marketresearch projects for clients and
associations across the United
States, and recently discussed how
to give a powerful presentation
Just another way to stay connected
theo anderson
Christine (Brown)
Anderton ’01 was featured
in the Reading Eagle’s “Faces
in the News” section for her
job as a volunteer executive
director of the Gilmore Henne
Community Fund. Christine is
responsible for managing the
day-to-day operations, replying to
requests for park revitalizations,
program planning, and growing
and expanding the fund. She is
also a juvenile probation officer.
Christine said she was attracted to
volunteering as a complementary
method of deterring negative
behavior in children.
and “not lose your cool” at a
Women2Women event sponsored
by Greater Reading Area Chamber
of Commerce and Industry.
Lauren (Phillips)
Korejwo ’03 and her husband
Christopher welcomed Cara
Elizabeth into the world on Jan.
30, 2013. Cara weighed 6 pounds,
4 ounces, and was 19 inches long.
Denise Pasko ’03 was
selected as one of this year’s
Greater Reading Chamber of
Commerce and Industries “Rising
Stars.” The Chamber hosts a
reception to recognize all of the
award winners at the Meet the
Stars Under the Stars event at
the Reading Public Museum’s
Planetarium.
Nathan Reich ’03 and wife
Catherine welcomed Claire Isabel
Reich into the world on Sept.
9, 2012. She joins big brother
Nicholas.
Amanda Boyle ’04 and
Michael Searfoss ’01 were
married in 2012 in Tamaqua, Pa.
They currently reside in Exeter
Township where Amanda is a fifthgrade teacher at St. Peter’s School
and Michael is a general manager
for Valenti Management.
Debbie Emes ’04 is a youth
development specialist with
Abraxas Academy in Morgantown.
Stacey (Westley)
Katrinak ’04 was named a
social media manager at Reese, a
marketing and advertising firm in
Wyomissing, Pa. She will manage
social media tools for the agency
and its clients.
Tara (Yoh) Kuebler ’04 and
her husband are expecting their
first child this September.
Bethany (Kraycik)
Slaymaker ’04 was promoted
to manager in the audit services
group at Reinsel Kuntz Lesher.
Bethany is responsible for
providing auditing and other
professional services to credit
union, manufacturing and service
industry clients.
Leo Lubinsky ’04, M’06 is
a location manager for Lowe’s in
Brownsville, Tenn.
Ryan Trupe ’04 is engaged
to marry Kelly Bohn. Ryan
is employed by the Eastern
Lancaster County School District.
Julie Angstadt ’05
was one of the distinguished
honorees recognized by the
Association of Fundraising
Professionals (AFP) Berks
Regional Chapter at its annual
National Philanthropy Day
Breakfast. She was nominated
by Alvernia for her dedication
to the university and the
community.
Margo (Ruth) DeRouchie
’05 was promoted to national
sales director at the Greater
Reading Convention and Visitors
Bureau. Margo is responsible
for marketing and selling the
Greater Reading area to group
tour operators as well as
sports, meeting and convention
planners. She also supervises
the production of promotional
materials to support group
travel in the region. Margo was
previously the member relations
coordinator.
Shari Widlund ’05, ’07, ’08
was featured in the Reading
Eagle’s “In Our Schools”
section. Shari is an autistic
support teacher at Reading
High School. Her classroom
is part of the Pennsylvania
Autism ABA Supports Initiative.
Approximately 200 classrooms
across the state participate in
this initiative.
Robert C. Barnes ’06 and
Katie McDade were married last
year at St. Malachi Church, in Doe
Run, Pa. The couple honeymooned
in Montego Bay, Jamaica. They
reside in Coatesville, Pa.
Dana Damato M’06 is
an executive assistant in the
commercial real estate industry. He
once operated Damato Consulting
aimed at startup businesses and
later operated Damato Property
Management.
Christine (Rivera)
Keller ’06 is a mental health
therapist. She recently received
her master’s degree in counseling
studies. Christine has two
daughters, Madison (5) and
Avery (2).
Carey (Douglass)
Manzolillo ’06, M’07 was
featured in the Reading Eagle’s
“Faces in the News” section.
As a communications specialist
at Alvernia, Carey keeps tabs
on everything going on at the
university, heading up all internal
and external communications.
She said, “Everything I liked about
Alvernia as a student was just
compounded working in public
relations.”
John McCarthy ’06 general
manager of asset management at
GE Healthcare was published in
an article titled “5 Heartbreakers
for Hospital CFOs” in Healthcare
Finance News. 
Alvernia University Magazine
49
Paul Sadaphal ’06 and his
wife, Sonia Topiarz ’07,
are the proud parents of Mary
Yvonne Sadaphal. Mary was born
on October 25, at 6:38 a.m. She
weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and
was 20 inches long.
Pamela Wagar ’06 and Adam
Smith are engaged to be married.
Brandon Ballantyne ’07,
M’11 was featured in “Counseling
Today,” a publication of the
American Counseling Association.
Brandon is a licensed professional
counselor at the Reading
Hospital. Originally an aspiring
tornado chaser, Brandon now
counsels teens. He incorporates
music along with other creative
interventions such as art and
journaling to help his adolescent
clients express difficult thoughts,
feelings and experiences.
Brad Binder ’07 was featured
in the Reading Eagle’s “In Our
Schools” section. He is the primary
emotional support teacher at
Shiloh Hills Elementary in the
Wilson School District, and the JV
baseball coach at Wilson, which
allows him to combine his passion
for baseball and love of teaching.
“Faces in the News” section for
his job as Berks County’s register
of wills. Larry is increasing the
automation of his office, including
working on putting the estate
records on the Internet. The
office plans to input 10 million
documents on the Internet,
amounting to 260 years worth of
records, within the next year.
Kyle Keller ’08 and Erin
Hoffert ’10 were married last
year at Trinity United Church of
Christ, in Mount Penn, Pa.
Amy (Sikorski) Klatt ’08,
M’09 was promoted to marketing
manager at Herbein + Company,
Inc.
Tara (McCullough)
Koppenberg ’08 and her
husband were featured in the
Reading Eagle for their story on the
difficult process of adoption. Tara and
Joel have been looking into adopting
children for about two years.
Heather Leader ’08, M’11
is engaged to marry Christopher
Reed on Oct. 12, 2013, at the
Abraham Lincoln Hotel.
Kristin Moyer ’08 is
engaged to marry Ralph Kabakoff.
Michael Senick ’08 was
featured in the Reading Eagle’s “In
Our Schools” section for his job as
a kindergarten teacher at Millmont
Elementary School. Michael said if
he wasn’t an educator, he would
definitely be doing something in
the sciences. He enjoys space
and evolution.
Mark Your Calendar!
Beth (Soja) Callen ’07 is
currently a stay-at-home mom to
her 20-month-old daughter.
Sarah Jones ’07 is married to
Adam Shoemaker. Adam proposed
to Sarah at Citizens Bank Park on
May 22, 2011, and the wedding
was May 4.
Ben Leisawitz M’07 joined
the law firm of Leisawitz Heller as
an associate attorney. He will focus
his practice in the firm’s business,
estate and trust groups.
Larry Medaglia M’07 was
featured in the Reading Eagle’s
50 Alvernia University Magazine
August 9
Alvernia Night at the Reading Fightin’ Phils
September 18
Founders Day
October 11-12
Homecoming and Family Weekend
October
Literary Festival
Visit Alvernia’s alumni website: alumni.alvernia.edu
Marianne Sharon ’08, M’11
was featured in the Reading Eagle
for starting Berks County’s first pet
loss bereavement support group,
as a part of fulfilling her graduation
requirements for her master’s
degree in community counseling at
Alvernia University. The free support
group meets in the community
room at the Wyomissing Public
Library every first and second
Monday of the month.
Brenda Williams ’08
graduated from the Frank J.
Tornetta School of Anesthesia at
LaSalle University in November
2012.
Christina (Kleist)
Alspach ’09 and her
husband Josh welcomed
Abigail Mae into the world on
March 7, 2013, at 1:17 a.m.
Faron (O’Shea)
Bollendorf ’09 is married to
Alan Bollendorf. The couple has
two sons: Miles Jackson (born
July 30, 2010) and Braylon William
(born Dec. 10, 2011). Faron works
as a registered nurse at All About
Children Pediatrics in West Reading.
David Bott II ’09 and Jaime
Hench are engaged to be married.
A July wedding is planned.
Matthew J. Cain ’09 passed
away in April 2012.
Audrey Hoffman ’09, M’10 got engaged to Stephen Krupiak on March 2 on a ski
slope in Killington, Vt.
Felicia Kollintza ’09
is engaged to marry Nicholas
Lambros.
Barbara Holley intern in Gettysburg
College’s Musselman Library.
Elizabeth A. Miller ’10
passed away on October 19,
2012. She is survived by her
husband G. Robert Miller and son
Joshua Robert Miller.
Magda (Vicente)
Graciano ’09 is a human
resource director at Welsh
Mountain Health Center.
Amy Squibb ’09 is engaged to
marry Brent Whary.
Audrey Hoffman ’09, M’10
and Stephen Krupiak are engaged
to be married in March 2014. The
engagement took place March
2, on a ski slope in Killington,
Vt. Audrey currently works in the
marketing department of Alvernia
University.
Danielle Fitzpatrick ’10
will be working at Blythedale
Children’s Hospital.
Marina Piccioni ’10 is
engaged to marry Timothy Refi on
June 29, 2013.
Laura Heffner ’10 is a library
assistant in Alvernia University’s
Franco Library. Following
graduation, she served as the
Grant Reitz ’10 is a
programmer/analyst at the
University of Pennsylvania’s
Wharton School. 
2010 s
Alvernia University Magazine
51
Lauren Rocchino ’10 and
Daniel Wehry ’10 were
married on November 24, 2012.
Matthew Barber ’11 is
engaged to marry Jaclyn Becker.
Matthew is employed by the
Reading School District and
Jaclyn is employed by Lancaster
General Hospital.
Dr. Mary (Lynch) Barbera
’11 was featured in an article
in the Reading Eagle about
understanding autism. Mary will
be the keynote speaker at the
Berks County Medical Society
Alliance conference, talking
primarily on her experiences with
autism and behavioral studies.
Specializing in applied behavioral
analysis, Mary works with local
parents, schools, specialists and
others to show them how children
can learn new words and develop
social and other developmental
skills that can improve their lives.
Katlin MacHugh ’11 had
her first book published through
YouthLight Inc. The book “Ugly:
The Story of a Bullied Girl,” details
her experiences as a victim of
bullying in middle school and high
school. Katlin is currently traveling
all over the country and speaking
about her experiences to schools
and at national conferences.
Christy Yousaitis ’11 and
James Austerberry ’08
are engaged to be married on July
6, 2013.
Jamie Murtha ’12 got
engaged to Joseph Leon on June
15, 2013, in Lancaster, Pa.
Brad Shafransky ’12
is engaged to Karen Najda. A
September 2013 wedding is
planned.
Married?
New job?
Addition to
the family?
Have info for
Class Notes?
Submit it to:
alumni@alvernia.edu
ties that bind | Continued from page 19
52 Alvernia University Magazine
own business on the side making jewelry and
selling it online. Sarah now works for East
Penn Manufacturing Co., in Lyon Station, Pa.
But it turns out Sarah’s commencement
ceremony wasn’t the first time Berger came
back to Alvernia for a graduation last year.
She was also there in June, when Berks
Catholic (formerly Holy Name) High School
held its graduation at Alvernia with Melisa as
a proud member of the Class of 2012.
Melisa is now majoring in political science
at Alvernia, with an eye toward possibly
going on to law school or working in public
policy.
“I am very proud of my grandchildren and
their accomplishments,” Berger says. “It is so
nice to return to the place where I grew up
and see how beautiful it has become.”
Thanks to their grandmother, Sarah
and Melisa have a greater appreciation of
Alvernia’s past than most of their classmates
— many of whom are surprised to hear it
was once an orphanage.
“I tell them my grandma grew up here,”
Melisa says.
When Sarah graduated from Alvernia,
her grandmother gave her a gift. It was
a portrait of Sarah that Berger painted
herself, drawing on the skills and passion
for art that were nurtured in Francis Hall
five decades earlier.
In that portrait can be seen Alvernia’s
past, present and future, a painting done by
a woman who grew up in Francis Hall, of
a bright young woman ready to make her
way in the world, armed with an accounting
degree and a dream of running her own
business, selling jewelry she makes herself.
The brushstrokes of the painting hold the
teachings and inspiration of a Franciscan nun
who cared for children without families of
their own.
Undoubtedly, from her current perch far
more exalted than the Francis Hall Tower,
Sister Anita is pleased.
Jack Croft is an award-winning writer and
editor with more than three decades of experience
across magazines, book publishing, newspapers
and online. He lives in Lansdale, Pa.
Theo Anderson
trustees of Alvernia University, donated to
the university in 2009 as the president’s
house and retreat center.
Berger still does housekeeping for the
Hollerans in their new home. “They’re very
lovely people,” Berger says. “It’s a blessing to
me.”
The feeling is clearly mutual.
“Following the example of the Bernardine
nuns who raised her, Mary Ann has lived a
totally selfless life,” Carolyn Holleran says.
“Since her husband died very young, she
was faced with the challenges of raising four
children by herself. She has dedicated her life
to providing support to her mother, siblings,
children and grandchildren. I truly marvel at
her willingness to always provide help and
comfort to everyone in her life. I have never
known her to put herself first — even though
I sometimes remind her to do it.”
Like her grandmother, Sarah Keinard
started out with an interest in nursing when
she came to Alvernia. But she switched to
accounting and graduated in just three-anda-half years, while managing to start her
‘A’ Game | Continued from page 34
peaceful ambitions
Continued from page 37
Fromuth talks with students from Bethlehem Catholic High School.
he faced the decision to close St. Mary’s
School, a venerable institution in
Reading. A proud, passionate parish, he
points out, it could no longer support
only 70 students.
Last year, Fromuth was an integral part
of a diocesan initiative to start a program
to help diocese schools survive and thrive.
Composed mostly of lay people, these
boards of limited jurisdiction are charged
with improving enrollment, finances and
community outreach.
“It’s very important to have a local
buy-in,” says Fromuth. “We have to make
everyone feel as if it’s their school.”
Fromuth sharpened his own admini­
strative skills as a charter student in
Alvernia’s doctoral program in leadership.
Dr. Tufan Tiglioglu, Ph.D., program director,
says Fromuth’s work ethic and dedication
were particularly impressive. “Through
Dr. Fromuth’s work in our program, he
showed how willing he was to put in
the time and effort needed to promote
social justice and social responsibility as a
visionary leader in our contemporary and
diverse society,” said Tiglioglu.
He was inspired by his dissertation subject,
Monsignor George Bornemann (1838-1924),
a Berks County shepherd. Bornemann
co-founded a hospital, united ethnic Catholic
churches and empowered Catholic parishes
in a highly Protestant region. He “was a
simple man, but a man who got things
done,” says Fromuth, “a man of his times
and a man who changed his times.”
Fromuth is helping to change his times
with a new diocesan academy that trains
prospective principals, assistant principals,
department heads, head teachers and
other educators to be better leaders. The
father of two college-age children is also
encouraging leaders to groom younger
leaders. One of his favorite exchanges took
place during a transition meeting for the
2011 merger of two Reading high schools,
Holy Name and Central Catholic — which
happened to be Fromuth’s alma mater.
At one point students and adults debated
whether seniors should wear the uniforms
of their old schools or the uniform of their
new school, Berks Catholic. John Foster,
an incoming senior, proposed a merger of
traditions. Seniors should wear the new
uniform, he said, to live the school’s motto,
“Unum in Christo,” or “One in Christ.”
Foster’s suggestion was accepted at
Berks Catholic, which has nearly 20 more
students than the combined enrollments of
Holy Name and Central Catholic. According
to Fromuth, the increase is rare among
merged Catholic schools in America.
Fromuth’s goals for the Allentown
Diocese range from increasing enrollment
by 2 percent in 2013-2014 to ministering
to the growing and thriving Hispanic
communities throughout the diocese. For
him, there is no finer example of servant
leadership than Jesus washing his apostles’
feet during the Last Supper.
“Our purpose is to work with people to
serve Jesus Christ,” he says. “I’m not sure
how effective leaders can be if they’re not
servants.”
Center for Community Engagement. There
she fell under the spell of an elementary
school student with a hemi-powered
personality.
“Jonathan was beyond energetic,” Roesch
recalls. “He was a spunky, fun kid who was
always making me laugh.”
Roesch helped Jonathan with his
homework, classroom confidence and
maturity.
“He was still crazy little Jonathan,” she
says. “The difference was, he would stop and
think before making a decision. It’s just a
good example of the good that can happen
when one person takes the time to say hello
to a kid, or play a game or just sit and talk.”
At times, Roesch has felt like a kid in
Uganda. She admits it’s a bit daunting
teaching students close to her age how
to teach students close to Jonathan’s age.
What makes it trickier are the stares and
comments she receives as a rare white
person in an overwhelmingly black
society. She’d be happy if she never heard
“mzungu,” which translates politely as
“foreigner” and less politely as “aimless
wandering person.”
Good-natured kidding has made Roesch
feel less like an outsider. She’s been ribbed
for her skinny American diet (apparently,
Ugandans eat heartier meals than spaghetti
with garlic bread) and for her cooking
misadventures on a cranky charcoal stove.
“Oh man, that sigiri,” she says with a sigh and
a laugh. “Let’s just say we made peace.” Let’s
also say that she’s glad she has a gas stove.
Roesch’s American care packages include
stimulating, soothing emails from Kathy
McCord, an assistant professor of education
at Alvernia and a mentor. These “reality
checks” reinforce lessons she learned in
such key McCord courses as Assessment and
Evaluation.
After her Peace Corps hitch ends in
2015, Roesch doesn’t want to be a typical
elementary school teacher. “It would just
be too boring after teaching here,” she
says. While she is considering teaching
English at a Franciscan Sisters’ school in the
Dominican Republic, she admits, “Whatever
happens will be God’s decision. I know He
has a plan for me.”
Alvernia University Magazine
53
“At stake is the
treatment of
literally billions
of animals in
our world.”
Donna Yarri
beast or brother? | Continued from page 27
54 Alvernia University Magazine
the use of animals as pets is no less clear cut.
Some are opposed to cosmetic alterations,
such as snipping tails or ears, even spaying
or neutering dogs — a practice with a much
lower use in Norway than in the United
States. Why? “Neutering can never be a
substitute for proper training of a dog,” an
animal welfare official in Norway has been
quoted as saying.
In the U.S., however, PETA campaigns
for spaying and neutering to keep down
unwanted animals that often end up
euthanized, Arth says.
What’s the bottom line? Does the owner/
pet relationship violate animal rights?
Serpell, for one, does not think so, making
an analogy to children. Not all are treated
well. Yet no one argues that humans should
not have children.
The treatment of animals, he points out, is
improving. Take, for example, the shift in the
very language, from pounds, where animals
are kept until they are euthanized, to animal
adoption centers. “There’s definitely a trend
in the sheltering community to say these
animals are valued,” he says.

Because of Alvernia’s heritage in large
part, Yarri’s students spend considerable time
on God’s perspective. Many of the world’s
religions or cultural traditions support animal
rights.
In the East, the Confucian sage Mencius,
who viewed animals as sentient, had the
insight 2,300 years ago that when people see
an animal suffering, they have an emotional
response, says Dr. Bongrae Seok, an
associate professor of philosophy at Alvernia
who specializes in Eastern religions and
philosophies. “That comes out of our heart,”
he says, “and really motivates us to go out
and help.”
Buddhism and Jainism, which both grew out
of Hinduism, focus on respect for all animals.
This philosophy is rooted in reincarnation, in
which rebirth can take animal, even insect,
forms. Jain monks go as far as to wear a cloth
mask over their faces to prevent them from
accidentally inhaling flying insects.
The origins of Hinduism itself included
animal sacrifice, Seok says, but the religion
Theo Anderson (2)
pets? On this evening, students in Yarri’s class
are discussing the Humane Society.
“How do these animals wind up here?”
Yarri asks. “Why do they wind up there?
What happens to the animals that don’t get
adopted?”
Students grapple with issues of dog and cat
abuse, discrimination against pit bulls and
whether humans should even keep pets.
“When you go there, you realize how
many animals are abused and neglected,”
says Casey Green, 20, of Ashland, Pa., a
sophomore studying forensic science and
criminal justice.
“It’s an arguable point, whether pets in
general are ethical,” adds Matt Stauffer,
22, of Reading, a junior in criminal justice
with a minor in computer science. “We’ve
domesticated animals and now created
animals that can’t survive on their own.”
“If you can properly love them, care for
them, provide them with food, water, shelter,
love, then I think it’s okay,” Fitzharris, the
pre-veterinary student, offers.
Inside this classroom, issues are viewed
from every angle. Among animal advocates,
making sense | Continued from page 44
interaction between students and teachers.
“Alvernia just seemed to be the most
accommodating school on my list,” he says.
To bring some of his native culture to Alvernia,
he recently hosted a Nigerian cultural meal on
campus, which consisted of jollof rice, plantains,
bread and fruit drinks.
Cooking his native foods helps Njoku-Browne
feel more comfortable far from home. And he
admits it’s sometimes hard not having people
around him who understand and can talk about
what life is like in his home country.
To reconnect with his roots, despite the tense
current political situation in Nigeria, NjokuBrowne says he goes back to visit as often as he
can.
His future plans include graduate studies
and eventually, a doctorate in paleontology. “I
am particularly interested in teaching people
about the history of the Igbo people and their
ancient religions,” he says. But for now his
Americanization continues, and with it his
appreciation for the country’s people, places and
peculiar spellings!
has gradually adopted reverence for animals,
including cows and elephants.
The traditions originating in India do
not “draw clear lines between humans and
animals,” he says. “Abusing animals in a way
is like abusing ourselves.”
Western religions focus on animal welfare.
According to the BBC, Islam calls for animals
to be treated with kindness but views their
existence to benefit humans. Both Islam and
Judaism use ritual slaughter, which involves
swiftly cutting the animal’s throat — a practice
some animal-rights supporters find inhumane.
Within Christianity, Franciscan theology
provides a powerful lens. The natural world
serves as “bread crumbs that lead us to the
divine,” Davidson says, citing Franciscan
writings.
In St. Francis’ “Canticle of Creatures,” also
known as the “Canticle of Brother Sun,” the
Middle Ages friar clearly saw a relationship
between the elements of the universe and
God, unprecedented in Christianity.
“Every creature is a brother or sister of
God,” explains Brother William Short, Order
of the Friars Minor, a professor of spirituality
at the Franciscan School of Theology in
Berkeley, Calif. “We don’t treat other
creatures in a way that’s disrespectful of their
Creator.”
But Short cautions that Francis’ ideas
may not translate to modern times. For
example, he forbade his brothers from
riding horses, except in emergencies. A
modern interpretation might assume he
found horseback riding demeaning to horses.
Instead, Francis wanted his brothers to be
humble, and in his time, riding a horse was a
symbol of the wealthy and powerful.
Still, Francis clearly had an unprecedented
affection for all creatures. Stories tell of him
being moved by simply holding a fish or
rabbit. Always, he would let them go.
In another popular story, St. Francis goes
to Gubbio, where a wolf is terrorizing the
Italian city, and he discovers the animal has
a thorn in its paw and removes it. Francis
makes a deal with the grateful wolf to protect
rather than terrorize the townspeople in
return for food. “The wolf nods approvingly,”
Davidson says. “And lo and behold, the wolf
lives peaceably with the people. … It gets at
a perspective that’s very Franciscan: ‘Let’s
make peace.’”
What, then, would be the saint’s take
on factory farms or eating animals? What
would he say of the lives and deaths of lab
rats? Or about shelters and neutering? What
about the desire to keep pets? Or Edison’s
experiment on Topsy?
“You don’t necessarily get any definitive
answers when those ethical questions are
raised,” Davidson says.
“I think more than anything, what the
tradition holds out is an inspiration, a vision,”
he continues, “and that vision can inform
our actions.”
Davidson is speaking specifically of
Franciscan tradition, of course. But his words
could embrace any number of the world’s
philosophies or moral views, even the heart
of Alvernia’s new course on the ethical
treatment of animals.
Lini S. Kadaba is a freelance writer based in
Newtown Square, Pa., and former Philadelphia
Inquirer staff writer who regularly contributes to
Alvernia Magazine.
Alvernia University Magazine
55
for ethan | Continued from page 38
Farah and sons
Ethan, left, and Jayden.
56 Alvernia University Magazine
Theo Anderson
body, mind, morality | Continued from page 41
But Alvernia teachers and administrators kept
her going.
She received a remarkable amount of support
from Sharon Helms in Alvernia’s registrar’s
office, who she says has been like a mother to
her and lifted her up during some of her lowest
moments.
“Whenever I would see Sharon, she would
ask if I’m okay; sometimes, she would say,
‘you’re not okay, talk to me and tell me what’s
wrong,’ and give me a big hug,” Abraham
says. “When I was ready to quit, she handed
me the application for graduation and said, ‘I
have my money on you — you are going to be
something, so we’re going to do it; we’re going
to graduate,’ and from then on, whenever I
have been struggling, I’ve thought of those
words — we’re going to graduate,’ and stuck
with it,” she says.
In addition to Sharon, Abraham says she’s
also gotten enormous support from others on
campus. “The instructors at Alvernia aren’t
just teachers — they are like parents. Every
single instructor I had has touched my heart.
They patiently repeated things when I didn’t
understand, allowed me to call my kids to check
on them while I was in class, and encouraged
me to go on for my master’s.”
She says even an employee cleaning a
bathroom on campus who noticed she was
crying stopped and said, “don’t worry — when
you graduate, it will all be worth it.”
When Abraham graduated this spring
with her degree in behavioral health and a
concentration in child welfare and mental
health, she was set to enter the field she always
dreamed of — social work. But before she can
begin her career, she’ll take a big step toward an
even more important goal — helping her son
Ethan through another major surgery to further
increase his chances of having full use of his
right leg.
Abraham and her husband also plan to
construct a website documenting Ethan’s
experiences, called “Ethan’s Journey” to give
hope and support to parents of children with
similar disorders.
Abraham’s advice for other students who face
challenges in their lives while trying to work
toward graduation is the same advice she has for
her sons: “No matter how hard things get, never
give up. If you want something badly, you have
to go for it no matter what it takes.”
about physical changes in our body,” he says. So when we empathize with
others in pain, we feel it in our bodily senses. “Therefore, the body is an
important and necessary medium and conduit of our moral experience,” he
says.
Secondly, when we mirror others’ suffering, we are naturally motivated
to help them, Seok says. And this is the foundation of our basic moral
motivation. So, in the end, empathy, physical sensations in the body and moral
motivation to help others are combined. “This is my theory of embodied moral
psychology,” he explains.
Crossing boundaries
The inspirational forerunner for Seok’s theory was the ancient Chinese
Confucian philosopher Mencius. “Mencius carefully observed and reported
this amazing human sensitivity
(embodied moral emotion),
and he used it as one of the
foundations of morality,” Seok
says.
“We have natural feelings
toward others, and Confucian
philosophers, particularly
Mencius, believed these feelings
are related to bodily changes —
inspiration for the main idea of
the book,” he says.
“My education was a true
interdisciplinary experience for
me, and I was lucky to learn how
to combine different academic
disciplines to tackle challenging
questions of the mind, including
consciousness, emotion,
memory and reasoning,” he
says. “The book is a result of my
interdisciplinary research on the
nature of the moral mind.”
Bongrae Seok
This multidisciplinary research
is limitless, and the book reflects
the boundary-breaking efforts of
philosophers. “Most things have boundaries, but true intellectual effort can
transcend time, from ancient to contemporary, and space, from East to West,”
he says.
With respect to modern-day technology, embedded within Seok’s message
about the connection between moral decisions and bodily sensations is
the importance of physical presence and face-to-face connections in our
increasingly online world.
“Concrete physical interaction is the foundation of human existence, even
though we spend more time in the bodiless cyberspace,” Seok says. “For
example, the body is important as we know that online dating is not really
dating.”
Ultimately, “Embodied Moral Psychology” teaches readers that morality and
ethics are not only topics for philosophical discussions; they are also practical
and physical issues we can feel and vividly experience in our bodies.
“Concrete physical
interaction is the
foundation of
human existence,
even though we
spend more time
in the bodiless
cyberspace.”
Alvernia University Magazine
57
Reality check | Continued from page 33
applied knowledge in real-world settings.
“Companies need people who can
synthesize information and apply it to
business problems,” says Jeffrey Holmes,
who leads the New York office of the
worldwide architectural firm Woods Bagot.
“Active learning and working environments,
including internships, can develop students’
ability to communicate, collaborate and apply
knowledge in the workplace setting — skills
that are key to career success.”
Further, a recent Association of American
Colleges & Universities study identified both
service learning and internships as “highimpact practices” that develop higher levels
of learning and knowledge.
At Alvernia, students perform at least 40
hours of community service before graduation;
one service-learning class earns 10 hours
toward that 40-hour requirement. Radosh,
using criteria developed by the university’s
Service-Learning Action Committee, reviews
every class syllabus, ensuring that each class
involves hands-on learning and helps meet a
community-voiced need.
Turning theory to experience
Experiential and service learning teach
Alvernia students to “think outside the text” —
to apply and reflect on what they learn in class.
This spring, Mary Ellen Wells’ upper-level
Federal Taxation class learned the basic
theory and concepts of income taxation. But
students who opted for the service-learning
project prepared real returns for real people.
They got certified through the IRS’ Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) and
prepared returns for area residents at sites set
up by Berks Community Action Partners and
Berks Encore. (Auditors reviewed studentprepared returns before they were filed.)
“It was a wonderful opportunity to gain
experience in a field related to my major,”
says Ashley Bauscher, 27, who holds
an associate degree from Reading Area
Community College and plans to graduate
from Alvernia with a bachelor’s degree in
accounting in 2014.
A few times, Bauscher had to prepare
returns that required knowledge of tax
situations Professor Wells hadn’t yet covered
in class. “I got stuck two Saturdays in a row,
but Jodi Readinger, director of BCAP’s VITA
58 Alvernia University Magazine
Professor Jodi Radosh works with students in Alvernia’s digital media suite.
initiative, helped me through. Then, in class
on Tuesday, we covered exactly what I didn’t
know on Saturday. When Professor Wells
explained it, I had a solid foundation, already
having worked through it.” Bauscher has also
made valuable contacts who’ve offered to
connect her to internships and jobs.
Similarly, a service-learning project in
Christine Poteau’s intermediate Spanish
class allowed students to assist the English
as a Second Language (ESL) teachers at the
Berks Residential Family Center in Leesport.
Run by the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, the center — one of only two
facilities of its kind in the nation — keeps
families together until their immigration
proceedings are finished. Many of the
families don’t speak English.
As junior Kacie Tokarski expected, reading
to the kids, assisting in the classroom and
helping parents help their children with their
homework sharpened the pre-med student’s
Spanish. “But I didn’t expect these kids to
touch my life the way they did,” she says.
“They’ve made me thankful for what I have.”
Karen Cameron’s OT-332 course introduces
students to two core occupational therapy
skills: helping patients adjust to their
physical challenges (adapting) and making
everyday activities easier or more challenging
(grading). To put their classroom learning to
use, this class serves the retired Bernardine
Franciscan sisters who live near campus in
St. Joseph’s Villa. The students plan and
lead activities that range from wheelchairexercise sessions, which improve the mobility
of sisters in wheelchairs, to Easter egg
hunts, which keep their minds sharp and
their bodies mobile, especially if they use
wheelchairs or walkers.
For students in OT-502, an upper-level
course that explores the use of technology in
occupational therapy, the real-world learning
was 7,500 miles away. A friend of Cameron’s
— an occupational therapist and U.S. Army
captain — was stationed in Afghanistan,
where he evaluated servicemen with head
injuries. “We Skyped him into class, and my
students planned a service treatment plan,
intervention planning and service activities. It
was amazing,” Cameron says.
Next fall, Radosh’s Broadcasting and
Electronic Media class will team with the
Berks County Community Foundation
(BCCF) to produce content for BCTV.org.
The BCCF worked with Radosh and BCTV
to obtain a $52,000 Knight Foundation
grant to help communities support local
news and information. (BCCF is matching
those funds.) The BCCF is in the process
of identifying issues the community needs
to know about, but that local media don’t
cover. Once the foundation detects this
“information gap,” Radosh’s students will fan
out into the community to report on them,
using traditional and social media. Students
will get hands-on training as reporters, learn
investigative reporting skills from working
print and broadcast journalists in the region,
and serve the community interest.
Score that a win-win-win.
Julia VanTine is a freelance writer who lives
in Reading, Pa.
Dr. Muzevich spends time with a few emerging writers at Alvernia’s Montessori School.
Theo Anderson (2)
toddler to tolstoy | Continued from page 21
show incremental growth in writing.
Muzevich admits her tool has been a work in progress. “Over
the years, it went through many revisions, and working at
Alvernia enabled me to conduct the inter-rater reliability studies
on the rubric, continue to revise it and find an outlet for having it
published in book form,” she says. “I couldn’t be more pleased with
the final outcome; I never dreamed it would end up in a book of
my creation.”
So far, response to “Evaluating Children’s Emergent Writing”
among kindergarten and first-grade teachers has been very positive.
“The rubric enables me to quickly glance to see which and how many
students are struggling in a certain area, so I can focus either large
group or small group instruction accordingly,” says one teacher.
Muzevich also got positive response from the book at a reading
conference she recently attended in Florida.
“One attendee, a literary coach, remarked that the rubric was
exactly what she needed because she didn’t have time to create one
on her own for teachers to use.”
At this point, Muzevich hopes to get her books in the hands
of more teachers looking for an effective tool for assessing
children’s emergent writing skills. “Only then will we see a
difference,” she says.
Alvernia University Magazine
59
my turn | Continued from page 11
being able to sit calmly — skills that
tend to develop later in boys.
Solutions offered for this problem
are reminiscent of the same ideas
kicked around when the issue dealt
with girl achievement in math and
science: help boys to behave more
like girls, bring in more male teachers
and single sex education. In her New
York Times article, Sommers hits on
many other broader issues related to
inequities in schools. I only wish she
would have changed the entire title
of her book to reflect her balanced
perspective.
Like Sommers, others acknowledge
that inequities associated with
achievement need to be considered
in a broader context. This is not
simply an educational problem; it
is a societal one. Soraya Chemaly
recently wrote on this topic for her
blog in the Huffington Post. Chemaly
argues that the “war” against boys
in education is a symptom of the
larger “crisis” faced by women in
life. Her position is clear: If schools
are biased in their evaluation of boys
saving lives
because standards are driven by an
institutional structure that embraces
“feminine” qualities, the situation
tends to reverse as we look at the
workplace. There, women continue
to have to fit into male institutional
structures in which wage gaps persist
and males are disproportionally
represented in leadership. She goes
on to make cogent arguments for
why male economic entitlement has
helped to actually create “feminized”
primary schools.
So, in this case the problems of
one gender are intertwined with
the problems of the other. My
wish is that people read beyond
the inflammatory book titles and
recognize that human achievement
and flourishing are serious issues that
should not simply be reduced
to gender wars.
Elizabeth Matteo, Ph.D., is an assistant
professor of psychology at Alvernia.
Her research subjects include prejudice,
stereotyping, stigma, social identity and
gender issues.
Continued from page 28
“It’s a profession where you can serve others and
use your talents and you can see the benefits of what
you’re doing,” Brown says. “You can see people
getting better.”
It was in medical
school that he met
his wife, Patti Brown
M.D., who grew
up in the Reading
area and is now
medical director of
HealthSouth Reading
Rehabilitation
Hospital. The couple
has four children.
It was also in
medical school that
Brown discovered his
passion for surgery. “I
like solving problems
Dr. Michael
and fixing things.
T. Brown
Surgery seemed
concrete. I liked
working with my hands. I liked operating.”
Solving problems, saving lives, serving others …
for Michael Brown, it has been a winning
combination.
“It’s a profession
where you can
serve others
and use your
talents and you
can see the
benefits of what
you’re doing.”
Blood Brother | Continued from page 42
President
Thomas F. Flynn, Ph.D.
Publisher and Editor in Chief
Brad Drexler
Creative Director
Steve Thomas
Contributing Editors
Carey Manzolillo ’06, M’07
Jack Croft
Contributing writers
Elizabeth Shimer Bowers; Jack Croft; Dr. Thomas F.
Flynn; Geoff Gehman; Audrey Hoffman ’09, M’10; Lini
Kadaba; Carey Manzolillo ’06, M’07; Laurie Muschick;
Julia VanTine
Contributing photographers
Theo Anderson; Carey Manzolillo ’06, M’07
Alvernia Magazine is a publication of Alvernia University.
Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. Correspondence
should be addressed to 540 Upland Avenue, Reading, PA
19611, or email: magazine@alvernia.edu
60 Alvernia University Magazine
“I have a strong support system
of family and friends, and even
I have days that are so hard
because of some of the things
I’ve been involved in and had
to do. So I can only imagine
what it is like for people who
don’t have that foundation.
“I want to help veterans
who have served, to give them
what they need to become
productive again,” he says.
Johnson says a lot of what
is missing is empathy for those
who’ve served. “It is really
easy to say, ‘this person is a
substance abuser and doesn’t
want to help himself.’ But it isn’t necessarily that the person doesn’t
want to help himself, but that he doesn’t have the support necessary
to do so.”
Johnson plans to change that.
Reality
Check
Discovering the real world
has never been easier
EA
L
D
L
R
O
W
L
REA
Erin Solley ’13
Sport Management major
At Alvernia, you’ll learn a lot from classroom
lectures and course materials. You’ll learn even
more when you apply that knowledge in real-life
settings with real-life challenges. We provide many
opportunities for students to venture into the real
world and develop important capabilities through
internships, field experiences, clinical assignments,
research projects, community service and study
abroad opportunities, among many others.
Hands-on, real-world learning allows you to test
your knowledge and know-how in real-life situations.
You’ll apply the fundamentals and techniques you’ve
learned in the classroom to help solve the critical
challenges facing today’s organizations.
Whether it’s consulting for a national destination,
working for a minor league sports team, leading a
student organization, treating patients or managing
a marketing campaign, experiential and classroom
learning at Alvernia prepares you for real-world
challenges and opportunities.
Want to know more? Check us out at
alvernia.edu/getreal
Alvernia University Magazine
61
Embracing a bold
New World
Consider this: It is estimated that 4 Exabytes — that’s 4 times 10 to the 19th
power — of unique, new information will be generated worldwide this year.
That’s more information than was generated in the past 5,000 years!
The amount of new technical information is doubling every two years.
A week’s worth of news in the New York Times provides more information
So, what does all of this mean?
And all of that new information generates new
How do we resolve that children are being prepared by
vocabulary. Today, there are approximately 940,000
those who can’t begin to comprehend the world in which
words in the English language — five times as many as in
these young people will live?
Shakespeare’s time. I love to read the Bard’s plays, and I
How can teachers … faculty … prepare students for
can testify that in not one did I ever read about a widget, a
jobs that don’t yet exist; jobs that will require the use of
web-surfer, an e-learner or a dot-comer!
technology that has not yet been invented? How do we
Today, our technology enables both old and new
give students the capacity to solve problems that have yet
information to be communicated at warp speed. Think
to be identified?
about this: When the radio was invented, it took 38 years
How do institutions, like Alvernia, possibly prepare
to reach a market audience of 50 million people. It took
students, knowing that the U.S. Department of Labor
Facebook two years. As a matter of fact, if Facebook were
predicts that today’s learners will have seven different
a country, it would be the third largest populated in the
professions … not jobs, professions, in their lifetime?
world, next only to China and India!
What do we do now that we know we will never again
Did you know that the number of text messages sent
out-calculate a computer?
and received each day exceeds the population of the
I would argue that the only way we will effectively
planet? It’s estimated that the average 21-year-old has sent
prepare our students for their world will be to maximize
or received 250,000 emails, instant messages or texts.
their talents and tap
It’s a changing
into the multiple
world. As we sit
Melissa Jamula with President Flynn
intelligences of each and
here today, a super
at the December ’12 Commencement.
every learner.
computer that exceeds
And I believe that
the computational
the only hope we have
capabilities of the
of doing that is to be
human brain is being
willing to lay it all out
perfected. And, it is
on the table, jettison
predicted that by the
our comfort zones and
year 2049, a $1,000
have the courageous
computer will have
conversations about
greater computational
what education really
capabilities than the
should look like today.
entire human race.
62 Alvernia University Magazine
left: Carey Manzolillo
than a person in the 18th century was likely to come across in their lifetime.
After receiving an

honorary degree
of humane letters
in December,
Melissa Jamula,
Ph.D., spoke to the
graduating class.
These are excerpts
of her remarks.
Friends, we live in the most intensely intellectually
stimulating of times.
More than ever before, we need to consider the skills
that will be essential to thrive in this world.
We need to embrace creativity, not conformity. We need
to create environments that encourage, not quash, risktaking. Do you know that some studies show that 4-yearolds exhibit greater divergent thinking skills than 18-yearolds? Though we have the best of intentions, by honoring
that concept of “one and only one right answer,” we have
beaten our kids into compliance.
Are we up to the task? I’m not sure.
In 2002, alone, Nintendo invested more than $140
million in research and development. The U.S. government
spent less than half as much on research and innovation in
education. Ten years later, perhaps we are witnessing the
fruits of both levels of commitment.

Jamula’s full remarks can be
found at alvernia.edu/news/archive
Alvernia University Magazine
63
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See page 8 for more.